BUILD BRAIN-SAVING HABITS

Sitting down can both increase and decrease your risk of dementia – it just depends what you’re doing, according to a new American study, which monitored 145,000 over 60-year-olds for 12 years.

Compared with watching less than two hours of TV, four hours binge-watching box sets was associated with a 20% increased risk of dementia. (Exercising is thought to protect against the neurodegenerative disease, but even this didn’t counteract the negative effect.)

Meanwhile, compared with no computer use, one hour spent surfing the internet or working was associated with a 25% decreased risk. This is because using a computer is more intellectually demanding than lying on the sofa watching TV – even if you’re just browsing for a new pair of jeans.

And if you want to add another beneficial behaviour into your office sessions, try snacking on grapes, which have been proven to reduce the chance of developing dementia by improving the function of neurons or nerve cells, according to a different study by Western New England University researchers.