Your Brain Is Shrinking, But There's Still Hope

People who watch TV for more than one hour a day are literally shrinking their brains.

That's according to Andrew Budson, a neurologist at Boston University who specializes in memory disorders. He's addressing growing concerns that we're living in what some call a "Golden Age of Stupidity"—math and reading scores are falling, trust in science is declining, and our attention spans are getting shorter.

But before you panic about your Netflix habits, Budson has good news: your brain is far more adaptable than you think, and it can create new connections throughout your entire life.

How Memory Actually Works

Your brain's memory system is more complex than a simple filing cabinet. Deep in your temporal lobe sits the hippocampus, which takes all the separate sights, sounds, smells, thoughts, and feelings you're experiencing and binds them into a coherent whole.

"The files are just blueprints or schematics of the memory," Budson explains. "Your brain needs to take this blueprint and very actively recreate the memory."

Your frontal lobes—right behind your forehead—act like a contractor managing this active construction. They're saying, "Hey, we need more of this, we need to put these things together, I don't think that's quite right, let's look for something that's a better match."

The Brain's Surprising Plasticity

The most exciting discovery is neuroplasticity—the concept that our brains remain elastic throughout our lives.

"When I went to medical school, I was told it was really only babies and children that had this neuroplasticity available," Budson says. "But we now know that neuroplasticity continues throughout the lifespan."

Memories are both a strengthening of existing connections between neurons and the creation of entirely new connections. During sleep, your brain decides which connections are important enough to strengthen permanently and which new pathways to build.

Use It or Lose It

Your brain really is like a muscle. Studies on social isolation prove this dramatically—when people become socially isolated, their brains actually shrink, even without any underlying disorder. Social isolation also increases dementia risk.

"Our brains evolved for social interactions," Budson emphasizes. "Math teachers might think it's to do arithmetic in our heads, but they're wrong. When you're talking to your friend next to you in math class, that's actually what our brains are for."

The good news? You can train your brain to be smarter. But there's a catch.

The Brain Training Game Trap

Many companies are developing brain training games with teams of scientists, but the research is disappointing. "If you spend a lot of time with brain training games, you get better at the brain training games. It does not translate into everyday life."

Real improvement requires direct practice. Want to remember French vocabulary? Develop a specific routine for studying those words. Struggling with names at networking events? Practice name-remembering techniques at actual social gatherings.

"We all can improve on almost anything our brain does, but the trick is to work on practicing that specific thing."

Google Maps Is Changing Your Brain

There's evidence we're actually getting less smart in some areas. The average person's ability to navigate has been "dramatically reduced" by Google Maps and similar apps. The part of our brain involved in navigation literally shrinks for many people.

And that TV watching stat isn't just correlation. "People who spend more than an hour a day watching TV actually end up getting less smart over time," Budson says. "If you're watching mindless television, it's going to rot your brain—make your brain smaller. You're not using it."

The Social Solution

So what's the answer? Budson's prescription might surprise you.

"I don't want people to go spend their time in a windowless room studying math texts. What I want people to do is get out there in life, interact with people. That's how to use your brains the best."

Even TV watching changes when it becomes social. "If you watch television with friends and really make it a social event, interacting with people, I think it's different than if you're watching it by yourself."

This has profound implications for how we think about education, work, and digital wellness. The rise of remote work, online learning, and social media—despite connecting us digitally—might be contributing to the very cognitive decline we're worried about.

The American Paradox

In a culture that often prioritizes individual achievement and screen-based productivity, Budson's findings challenge our assumptions. The executive spending 12 hours a day on Zoom calls might be less cognitively healthy than the barista having dozens of brief conversations with customers.

Silicon Valley's promise of AI augmenting human intelligence looks different through this lens. If our brains shrink when we don't use them, what happens when algorithms do more of our thinking?

The answer might be simpler than we think—but it requires intentionally choosing human connection over digital convenience. The question is: are we willing to make that choice?