TV Is Bad, Chocolate Is Good
Monday 19th February, 2007 15:38 Comments: 0
Analysis of 35 scientific studies identified negative effects TV can have on youngsters. They ranged from short-sightedness and obesity to premature puberty and autism. It appears that the average six-year-old child in Britain will have spent one full year watching TV, which is pretty bad (4 hours a day?). But what is possibly more appalling is that more than half of three-year-olds have a TV set in their bedroom! I was never allowed a TV in my room when I was younger. I had to resort to occasionally watching TV under the covers with headphones on on my brother's Game Gear with the TV tuner. By the time I was preparing for uni, I finally managed to have a computer in my bedroom.
Watching TV suppresses the production of the hormone melatonin, which has important functions in the immune system, sleep cycle and the onset of puberty, it found. Girls are reaching puberty much earlier than in the 1950s, partly because their average weight has increased but possibly also because of lower melatonin levels (but don't tell the girls that or they might watch as much TV as possible in order to be the first girl in their class with boobs). Reduced levels of melatonin may also make it more likely that cell DNA will produce cancer-causing mutations, the study noted. Mind you, most things will give you cancer nowadays. Except masturbation.
The risk of developing Alzheimer's disease increases with each extra daily hour of television viewing among people aged 20 to 60 (although that still sounds quite vague to me). So I'm probably screwed. Although... the amount of chocolate I eat might help protect my brain (okay, so it needs to be "a specially formulated type of cocoa"). A small group of women was tasked with completing a series of mental challenges. The idea was that consuming the specially brainy chocolate drink, rich in flavonols, would improve their performance. Well, it didn't, but scans of the women's brains during the tests showed increased blood flow in the brain for two to three hours. An older test group also showed increased blood flow after consuming the drink. The researchers hypothesised that this increase in blood flow might benefit older adults afflicted by mini strokes or fatigue.
And on that note, I'm going to break into a big bar of chocolate.
Watching TV suppresses the production of the hormone melatonin, which has important functions in the immune system, sleep cycle and the onset of puberty, it found. Girls are reaching puberty much earlier than in the 1950s, partly because their average weight has increased but possibly also because of lower melatonin levels (but don't tell the girls that or they might watch as much TV as possible in order to be the first girl in their class with boobs). Reduced levels of melatonin may also make it more likely that cell DNA will produce cancer-causing mutations, the study noted. Mind you, most things will give you cancer nowadays. Except masturbation.
The risk of developing Alzheimer's disease increases with each extra daily hour of television viewing among people aged 20 to 60 (although that still sounds quite vague to me). So I'm probably screwed. Although... the amount of chocolate I eat might help protect my brain (okay, so it needs to be "a specially formulated type of cocoa"). A small group of women was tasked with completing a series of mental challenges. The idea was that consuming the specially brainy chocolate drink, rich in flavonols, would improve their performance. Well, it didn't, but scans of the women's brains during the tests showed increased blood flow in the brain for two to three hours. An older test group also showed increased blood flow after consuming the drink. The researchers hypothesised that this increase in blood flow might benefit older adults afflicted by mini strokes or fatigue.
And on that note, I'm going to break into a big bar of chocolate.