If you want to lower your dementia risk, you’ve probably heard one piece of advice: “Train your brain.”
New research shows that a variety of skills and hobbies act like cognitive training, strengthening the brain as you age.
One recent study linked a lower risk of dementia and cognitive impairment to lifelong learning.
That includes activities that stimulate the mind: reading, writing, learning languages, playing chess, solving puzzles, visiting museums, making music, and more.
“They challenge the brain and the way you think. The most important thing is to find consistent activities that truly engage you, not just hop from one thing to another,” said neuropsychologist Andrea Zammit of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, who led the study.
If you didn’t practice what Zammit calls cognitively enriching activities when you were younger, it’s never too late to start. Middle age (45–59) is an important window for protecting brain health.
Building cognitive reserve helps buffer the effects of brain aging
Zammit’s study included about 2,000 people aged 53 to 100 who didn’t have dementia at the start. Researchers followed them for eight years, Science Alert reported.
They asked participants about education and other brain-beneficial activities during youth, middle age, and older age, and they gave the volunteers a series of cognitive tests.
Some participants were later diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. But among people who accumulated the most knowledge over their lifetimes, the disease appeared about five years later than among those who accumulated the least. In the journal Neurology, the researchers reported that high mental activity in middle and older age is associated with a slower rate of cognitive decline.
Autopsies of 948 participants who died during the study found signs of Alzheimer’s disease in their brains. But people who had stronger cognitive abilities showed better memory and thinking scores before death, and their cognitive decline progressed more slowly.
This is called cognitive reserve. Learning strengthens neural connections across different brain regions, helping the brain become more resilient and better able to cope with damage caused by aging and disease.
More ways to protect your brain from dementia
Researchers also remind us not to forget exercise. Physical health matters for brain health. Besides exercise, experts recommend regular blood pressure checks and good-quality sleep.
“There is no magic formula that will prevent both dementia and the normal cognitive decline that comes with aging,” said Dr. Ronald Petersen, an Alzheimer’s specialist at the Mayo Clinic. Lifestyle changes, he said, can still slow that process.
Many chronic health problems that develop in middle age can raise the risk of Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia later in life. For example, poorly controlled diabetes can trigger damaging inflammation in the brain. And high blood pressure damages blood vessels — not only bad for the heart but also reducing blood flow to the brain.
That means core heart-healthy recommendations — regular exercise, eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, avoiding obesity, and controlling diabetes, blood pressure, and cholesterol — are also important for brain health.
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