Keeping mentally active and dementia risk explained

Keeping your brain active over time may help it work well for longer. It may also help the brain cope better with changes linked to dementia.

1. Slower changes in memory and thinking

Research suggests that people who keep their brains active throughout their lives may have fewer changes in memory and thinking as they get older.

Higher levels of education, having a more challenging job, and taking part in social and leisure activities have all been linked to reduced symptoms.

2. Delaying the onset of dementia

Even if someone with a high cognitive reserve does get dementia, studies have found that people who regularly challenge their brains with activities like reading, writing and playing games develop Alzheimer’s up to five years later than those who don’t.

Some research suggests that speaking more than one language may be linked to a lower risk of dementia, but this is still debated.

More research is needed to fully understand this link.

Most of what we know about dementia risk comes from observational studies, which follow groups of people over time to look for patterns in health and lifestyle.

For example, studies like Insight 46 have followed people for decades to understand how health across life is linked to brain health and later on.

This is often the most practical way to study dementia risk. Many risk factors cannot be tested in trials in a fair or ethical way. Dementia also develops over many years, so studies can take a long time to show results.

Observational studies can show when something like our diet or occupation are linked to a higher or lower chance of dementia. But they cannot prove that something directly causes dementia, or that changing it will definitely reduce risk. These studies look at patterns across large groups, not what will happen to any one person.

Randomised controlled trials give stronger evidence because participants are assigned to different groups at random. This design makes it more likely that differences in outcomes, for example our risk of dementia, are caused by the intervention, for example a diet change, rather than by other factors.

But these studies are harder to do in dementia research. They often take many years and may test several changes at once, making results harder to interpret.

Newer trials are helping to build a clearer picture of what may support brain health. No single study can give a definite answer, but it is all research findings together that help us understand what is important for our brain health and risk of dementia.