Gaby
A team of Stanford researchers led by Eric Hanushek believes that honing math and reading skills should be a constant endeavor—at work, at home, everywhere possible.
This new study suggests that keeping the mind active through math and reading can help prevent age-related cognitive decline. The study showed that regular practice of these skills—whether it’s reading emails, crunching numbers, or even browsing articles like this one—helps keep the brain sharp. The conclusion challenges the long-held belief that a decline in mental abilities is an inevitable part of aging.
What Did the Researchers Discover?
The researchers analyzed data from a language and math skills test administered to German citizens aged 16 to 65. After three and a half years, they retested the same group. Simultaneously, participants were asked how often they engaged in tasks such as reading emails or calculating expenses.
The study revealed that cognitive abilities typically improve until around age 40, then gradually decline. However, those who consistently engage in math and reading show no signs of deterioration, according to BBC Science Focus.
“We found that average literacy and numeracy skills significantly improve until the age of forty. After that, average skills decline slightly in literacy and significantly in mathematics,” the report says.
These results contradict previous studies that suggested cognitive skills begin to decline as early as young adulthood (ages 18–25). Unlike those studies, which compared different age groups at a single point in time, this research tracked the same individuals over several years. That makes the authors’ view of how cognitive abilities develop with age more accurate.
Hanushek and his team proposed that what previous studies perceived as age-related cognitive decline might actually be due to differences in skill levels between generations, rather than natural aging effects.
The study also found that women’s math skills tend to decline more sharply over time than men’s. The researchers said future studies could help clarify why this occurs.
