New study Excessive driving reduces the intelligence

Long journeys by car can affect the brain
If you drive by car, you need to focus heavily on road traffic. For longer distances (for example, on the highway) the concentration often drops, without the task seeming particularly demanding for our brains. Researchers have now discovered that people who drive regularly for more than two hours by car are impaired in their intelligence.

Researchers at Leicester University in the UK found in their study that regular driving can bring about a reduction in intelligence among sufferers. A disturbing news - especially for all those who have to travel a long distance every day for work reasons by car. Compared to the "Sunday Times", the researchers commented on the new study results in an interview.

Some people have to travel long distances by car every day. Physicians found that regular long trips in the car can lead to a cognitive decline. (Image: Kaesler Media / fotolia.com)

The intelligence is reduced by long journeys in the car?
Do you drive long distances regularly by car? If so, your intelligence might suffer. Experts found that in middle-aged and older people, the brain breaks down faster when people travel long distances on the road every day. Should we avoid driving long distances by car? And how should people react who are forced to drive for several hours every day by car??

Mentally stimulating activities can slow down mental degeneration of the brain
The researchers explain that sufferers can reduce the negative effects on the brain by minimizing their time of driving. In addition, try to find mentally stimulating activities, such as talking to other people, to stop the brain's cognitive decline, experts suggest.

Is the human mind less active while driving??
"We already know that driving a car for more than two to three hours a day is bad for the human heart," says Kishan Bakrania of Leicester University in the UK versus the Sunday Times. The current investigation now suggests that it is also bad for the brain, if you often drive long distances by car. The reason could be that in these hours the human mind is less active, adds Bakrania.

Regular longer trips by car lead to cognitive decline
For their study, the scientists studied the lifestyles of more than 500,000 Britons aged 37 to 73 years. These participants were medically monitored for a total of five years. During this time, they participated in various intelligence and memory tests. A so-called cognitive decline is already measurable after a period of five years, because this decline can occur rapidly in middle-aged people, explain the scientists. This process is linked to various lifestyle factors, such as smoking and poor diet. In the future, regular longer trips by car should also be considered as a risk factor for a cognitive decline, explains Bakrania.

When subjects drove a lot of their car, their intelligence dropped faster
Researchers found that the average 93,000 people who traveled more than two or three hours each day had lower intelligence. In the next five years, the intelligence also dropped faster compared to people who drive little or no car at all. Driving by car causes stress and fatigue. These effects seem to be related to cognitive decline, explains Bakrania. (As)