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Want to keep your brain sharp as you age? Study finds two key factors
As people grow older, maintaining a sharp mind becomes a priority for many. While some changes in memory and thinking are often considered a natural part of aging, researchers continue to explore why some older adults seem to retain their cognitive abilities far better than others.
New research examining adults over the age of 65 offers some clues. Across two studies, scientists investigated the factors linked to stronger performance on tasks involving language, memory and information processing.
The findings suggest that certain resources built and developed over a lifetime may help support healthier cognitive aging.
One of the key concepts explored by researchers was cognitive reserve, which they define as the mental resources people accumulate through education, intellectually stimulating jobs and mentally engaging hobbies and leisure activities. According to the studies, this reserve may help the brain better cope with age-related changes.
The first study focused on language abilities, examining how effectively older adults could retrieve words and express themselves.
Researchers found that participants with higher levels of cognitive reserve performed better on language tasks. In some cases, their abilities were similar to those seen in younger adults. Positive emotions were also associated with stronger language performance.
One of the study’s most notable findings came from an analysis of verbal fluency during the first 10 seconds of a task.
While traditional assessments typically focus on performance across a full minute, researchers were interested in the opening moments, when people rapidly search their memory for words. They found that signs of age-related decline could already be detected during those first few seconds.
However, the decline was much smaller among people with higher cognitive reserve and, in some cases, appeared to disappear altogether.
The researchers concluded that cognitive reserve may help preserve more youthful language abilities, particularly when it comes to quickly retrieving words.
The study also highlighted the role of emotion in language processing. Older adults retrieved words associated with positive emotions more easily than words linked to negative emotions, suggesting that both cognitive reserve and emotional content can influence language performance later in life.
The second study examined working memory, the ability to temporarily hold information, process it and use it to complete a task. Researchers note that working memory generally becomes less efficient with age.
To investigate the factors that may help support it, adults over 65 completed a working-memory task involving faces. Depending on the test condition, participants were asked to focus either on a person’s age or on their emotional expression.
Researchers wanted to determine whether cognitive reserve and emotional intelligence played a greater role when emotional information was relevant to the task.
Once again, cognitive reserve emerged as a significant factor.
Participants with higher cognitive reserve performed better overall, were more accurate and benefited regardless of which version of the task they completed. According to the researchers, this suggests that cognitive reserve plays a fundamental role in helping people maintain and manipulate information needed to complete tasks.
The results also showed that older adults performed better when emotional information was involved, suggesting emotional content may help make cognitive processing more efficient.
Researchers also examined emotional intelligence, defined as the ability to recognize, understand and use emotions. Participants with higher emotional intelligence took longer to respond to emotional stimuli, which researchers said likely reflected deeper processing rather than greater difficulty.
Taken together, the findings suggest that cognitive reserve and emotional skills work together to support healthy cognitive aging. Cognitive reserve appears to benefit both language and working memory, while emotional abilities influence how efficiently older adults process information.
Experts say reserve can be strengthened through lifelong learning, regular exercise, mentally stimulating activities, social engagement and other enriching experiences.
The work was conducted as part of the Italian research program Age-It: Ageing Well in an Ageing Society, which studies the challenges and opportunities associated with an aging population.
Reference:
Rumiati. Brain Sciences. DOI: 10.3390/brainsci16070725
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Kara Dolman and Gray R. Thomas
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