Be careful if you plan to do a lot of driving this summer… In a study published on the Sunday TimesBritish researchers from the University of Leicester (UK) argue that conduct regularly more than two hours a day would have an impact on the brain. According to them, it would have a negative influence on intelligence.
To reach this conclusion, the researchers observed for five years the lifestyles of more than 500,000 Britons aged 37 to 73, who were subjected to regular intelligence tests. The study first reveals that, among the participants, the 93,000 who drive more than two to three hours a day have a lower IQ (intelligence quotient). But that’s not all, the intelligence of heavy drivers declines, over the long term, much faster than for those who do not drive, or drive very little.
Driving accelerates cognitive aging
In the British newspaper The Sunday Times, Kishan Bakrania, an epidemiologist from the University of Leicester, hypothesizes to explain these astonishing results: “We know that driving regularly for more than two to three hours a day is bad for the heart. This new research suggests it’s bad for your brain too, perhaps because your mind is less active during those hours.” brain goes into “neutral” when driving because it is less stressed.
The scientist adds that the effects of driving on the brain are comparable to excessive consumption ofscreens : “when you watch television, your brain is less active. Conversely, we have observed that cognitive skills are stimulated in people who use the computer for up to two to three hours a day”.
Although studies suggest that the cognitive aging is linked to physical inactivity, Kishan Bakrania suggests another aggravating factor: “driving leads to stress and fatigue, which can also explain the deterioration of cognitive abilities”.
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