Watching TV for hours impairs your mental ability, according to study. The results, published in the JAMA Psychaiatry Journal, found the more TV people watched, the worse they performed in a series of intelligence tests.

Movies bring us a sense of relief, even if they stress us out first. Watching something suspenseful releases cortisol (the stress hormone) in the brain, followed by dopamine, which produces feelings of pleasure.

Alcohol and drugs. Fetal alcohol exposure, causing Fetal alcohol syndrome, is one of the leading known causes of mental retardation in the Western world. Current cannabis use was found to be significantly correlated in a dose-dependent manner with a decline in IQ scores, during the effect of the use.

Watching television isn’t just slowly killing your brain cells, it may be slowly killing you. Researchers found that people who watched three or more hours of television a day were at twice the risk of an early death than those who watched less.

Researchers at University College London say excessive viewing could lead to memory loss and contribute to the development of dementia. They have discovered that people over 50 who watch more than 3.5 hours of TV a day are more at risk of losing their memory.

A new study finds that watching high-quality television dramas can increase our ability to read other people’s emotions. Alicia Florrick from the CBS television series The Good Wife, portrayed by Julianna Margulies. If not, you can improve this valuable ability by spending quality time with some fictional friends.

It happens that watching too much television may increase your risk of developing Alzheimer’s/dementia and cause brain damage. Into the bargain, the negative effects of too much TV time could show up much sooner than previously thought, according to a recent Washington Post article.

All the research says reading a book is good for you. Better even than listening to an audiobook or reading one on an e-reader. It reduces stress, promotes comprehension and imagination, alleviates depression, helps you sleep and may contribute to preventing Alzheimer’s. Reading is active; watching TV is passive.

Reading is very, very good for you. Research shows that regular reading: improves brain connectivity. increases your vocabulary and comprehension.

Vision Checks Kids who frequently sit close to the television may actually be nearsighted and should have their vision checked. TV itself isn’t permanently damaging to your eyesight, but you may develop headaches and eye fatigue if you watch TV for long periods of time without moving.

Television can teach kids important values and life lessons. Educational programming can develop young children’s socialization and learning skills. News, current events and historical programming can help make young people more aware of other cultures and people.

Previous research has also linked prolonged television viewing to heart disease, blocked arteries and dangerous blood clots. In this new study, TV viewing increased the risk for life-threatening clots both in the arms and legs (a condition called deep vein thrombosis) and in the lungs (known as pulmonary embolism).

According to research by Martin Seligman, a leading positive psychology researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, experiencing positive emotions is one of the building blocks of our wellbeing. It would therefore make sense for us to watch more feelgood shows on TV to increase positive emotions.

According to a new study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers, prolonged TV viewing was associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and premature death.

More than ever, though, it is important to stay active and live a healthy lifestyle. One way we can do this, according to new research, is to cut back on our time watching TV. In fact, researchers say cutting back to 2 hours a day may be a good way to prevent poor health.

Watching more than three-and-a-half hours of TV per day has been associated with a decline in memory of words and language. Watching a lot of television in later life can damage memory of words and language, a new study has found.

Good evidence suggests that screen viewing before age 18 months has lasting negative effects on children’s language development, reading skills, and short term memory. It also contributes to problems with sleep and attention.

This study by Chonchaiya and Pruksananonda found that children who began watching tv before 12 months and who watched more than 2 hours of TV per day were six times more likely to have language delays! That could mean late talking and/or problems with language in school later in life.

Toddlers 18 months to 24 months old can start to enjoy some screen time with a parent or caregiver. By ages 2 and 3, kids should watch no more than 1 hour a day.

Screen Time for Babies Linked to Higher Risk of Autism-Like Symptoms Later in Childhood. Sitting a baby in front of a tablet or television, as well as less parent-child play time, are associated with developing greater autism spectrum disorder (ASD)-like symptoms later in childhood.

Genetics. Several different genes appear to be involved in autism spectrum disorder. For some children, autism spectrum disorder can be associated with a genetic disorder, such as Rett syndrome or fragile X syndrome. For other children, genetic changes (mutations) may increase the risk of autism spectrum disorder.

Though it would be inaccurate to characterize ASD as a symptom or type of brain injury, scientists have observed physical differences in brain structure and function among ASD patients.

If watching more television is associated with higher rates of autism in the data, this does not prove that television is an autism trigger. There could be a third factor – for example, the child’s diet – that is correlated with both television watching and autism and is the real trigger.

The study revealed that each hour of television watched per day at ages 1-3 increases the risk of attention problems, such as ADHD, by almost 10 percent at age 7.

In severe cases, an autistic child may never learn to speak or make eye contact. But many children with autism and other autism spectrum disorders are able to live relatively normal lives.

Goldsmiths, University of London researchers working with adults recently diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder have found high rates of depression, low employment, and an apparent worsening of some ASD traits as people age.

ASD has a tendency to run in families, but the inheritance pattern is usually unknown. People with gene changes associated with ASD generally inherit an increased risk of developing the condition, rather than the condition itself.

Sept. 27, 2007 — Most teens and adults with autism have less severe symptoms and behaviors as they get older, a groundbreaking study shows. Not every adult with autism gets better.