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Dec 7, 2022 · However, other research did not find any effect of watching TV on older adults’ mental health, well-being, and cognitive functioning. For instance, in an experimental study, Deal et al. (Citation 2018) found no effect of watching cable news on subjective and physiological stress reactions and cognitive functioning.
- Overview
- Watching TV is a ‘passive activity’
- Watching TV and ‘cognitive stress’
- Study does not deny benefits of TV
Older people who want to preserve their faculties may wish to consider rationing their TV time. A large new study of older adults found that those who spent at least 3.5 hours per day watching TV experienced a greater decline in verbal memory.
Researchers at University College London in the United Kingdom analyzed data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) on 3,662 adults aged 50 and older.
In 2008–2009, and again in 2014–2015, the ELSA participants had answered questions about the time they spent watching TV.
At these times, they also completed tests of verbal memory and fluency.
The analysis revealed that those who watched TV for 3.5 hours or more per day had an average decline of 8–10 percent in word- and language-related memory over the 6 years the study covered. This is compared with a lower 4–5 percent average decline in those who watched fewer hours of TV per day over the same period.
The study, which now features in the journal Scientific Reports, found no such links between TV viewing time and differences in “semantic fluency.”
An interesting point about the new study is the fact that the link between extensive TV viewing and greater verbal memory decline remained even after the researchers adjusted the results for how much time people spent sitting.
In considering potential reasons for their findings, they discuss the nature of TV viewing compared with other sedentary activities.
“Television,” explain the study authors, “has been described as a unique cultural activity in that it combines strong, rapidly changing fragmentary dense sensory stimuli on the one hand with passivity from the viewer on the other.”
Many studies that have tied sedentary time to cognitive decline in older adults have not considered this unique “alert-passive” nature of TV viewing, but they have treated it as a “proxy for sedentary behavior.”
The authors draw comparisons with research on other screen-based sedentary behaviors that has not linked them to cognitive decline.
Some studies, for example, have suggested that using the internet and playing video games — both sedentary activities that involve use of a screen — may even preserve, if not enhance, cognitive skills such as those necessary for problem-solving.
The researchers suggest that watching TV could impact verbal memory through “cognitive stress.” Such stress, they argue, might arise from the alert-passive nature of TV viewing coupled with the psychological effects of witnessing violent, suspenseful, and graphic scenes.
Another explanation for the study findings could be that the more time people spend watching TV, the less opportunity they have to engage in “cognitively beneficial activities,” such as reading, playing board games, and cultural pursuits.
This could imply that the potentially negative impact of TV viewing is not just a result of its direct effects, but also because it displaces activities that preserve cognitive ability, even though they may also be sedentary.
“However,” note the study authors, “this remains to be explored further in future studies.”
Finally, the researchers point out that their findings do not suggest that TV viewing in older age has no benefits at all. There is evidence, for instance, that adults who watch dramas as opposed to documentaries do better in tests that indicate a greater ability to understand others.
Some studies have also revealed that when “designed appropriately,” educational TV programs are efficient vehicles for learning.
TV also offers a means to escape from life at times of difficulty, and many people consider it a form of relaxation.
The British Heart Foundation part-funded this research. Chris Allen, a senior cardiac nurse for the charitable organization, explains that “it’s important to remember that cognitive decline is not the same as dementia.”
“But if you’re concerned that the amount of television you’re watching could be having a negative impact on your health, we would advise limiting the amount of TV you watch each day and working in some heart-healthy hobbies to your routine.”
Chris Allen
Feb 28, 2019 · These findings support previous associations shown between television watching and MMSE in a cohort of older adults in China 11, but demonstrating more clearly the quantity of television watching ...
- Daisy Fancourt, Andrew Steptoe
- 2019
Jun 29, 2010 · Researchers from the University of California, San Diego, have found that people over 65 watch three times more TV than younger adults. Yet older people enjoy their viewing far less. Younger ...
Aug 4, 2021 · UK adults spent nearly a third of their waking hours watching TV and online video content in 2020, according to a report from regulator Ofcom. Screen time, spurred on by pandemic lockdowns, was a ...
Jun 14, 2021 · It might surprise you to learn that older adults watch more television than younger people do. Watching TV comprises most of the leisure time for adults aged 70 to 105 years old. Television can be an avenue to learning new things, connecting with the world, creating a diversion, and providing some light entertainment.
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Feb 28, 2019 · This study is not suggesting that watching television in older adulthood confers no benefits. Indeed, research with adults has suggested that TV dramas in comparison with TV documentaries can increase performance in tests of theory of mind, suggesting that television can enhance understanding of others 27.
