Brain and Cognition
The strongest evidence on protecting the aging brain comes from trials rather than headlines. In FINGER, 1,260 Finnish adults aged 60 to 77 at raised dementia risk were randomized to two years of diet, exercise, cognitive training and vascular risk monitoring, or to general health advice. Cognitive test scores improved slightly more in the intervention group (a difference of 0.022 per year on a composite score), a modest but statistically significant effect.1
Exercise also has direct evidence on brain structure. In a randomized trial of 120 older adults, aerobic exercise training increased the size of the anterior hippocampus by about 2%, effectively reversing one to two years of age-related volume loss, and improved spatial memory.2
The articles below cover dementia risk factors, exercise, stress and mood, and which brain-health claims have human evidence behind them.
Reading path
Read in this order: the essentials first, then the detail, then the reviews that test popular claims.
Start here
- The Brain Longevity Blueprint: How to Protect Your Cognitive Health for LifeA practical plan for protecting memory and thinking as you age, built on the strongest evidence for exercise, sleep, blood pressure and more.
- Alzheimer's Prevention: The Evidence-Based Case for Aggressive Early Action Starting TodayThe modifiable risk factors for Alzheimer's disease, how early they start to matter, and the evidence behind exercise, sleep, blood pressure and more.
Go deeper
- Exercise and the Brain: The Neurobiological Case for Moving Your BodyHow exercise changes the brain, from blood flow and BDNF to memory and dementia risk, and what kind and amount of activity the studies support.
- BDNF: What It Does, What Raises It and What Your Levels MeanWhat BDNF does for the brain, how exercise, sleep and diet raise it, and how far the human evidence goes beyond animal studies.
- Neuroplasticity Across the Lifespan: How the Brain Rewires Itself and What Drives ItHow the brain rewires itself at every age, what drives new connections, and the activities with evidence for keeping the brain adaptable.
- Chronic Stress, Cortisol, and Aging: The Longevity Cost of Always Being OnHow chronic stress and cortisol affect blood pressure, sleep, metabolism and the brain over time, and the stress-reduction methods with evidence.
Evidence checks
- Psychedelic Medicine and Longevity: What the Emerging Research Actually ShowsWhat clinical trials of psilocybin and other psychedelics show for depression and well-being, the risks, and why longevity claims are premature.
- Parkinson's Disease Prevention: What the Evidence Shows About Reducing Your RiskWhat is known about the causes of Parkinson's disease, the risk factors you can change, and the evidence that exercise may lower risk.
Sources
- 1Ngandu T, et al. "A 2 year multidomain intervention of diet, exercise, cognitive training, and vascular risk monitoring versus control to prevent cognitive decline in at-risk elderly people (FINGER): a randomised controlled trial." Lancet. 2015;385(9984):2255-63. PubMed · DOI
- 2Erickson KI, et al. "Exercise training increases size of hippocampus and improves memory." Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011;108(7):3017-22. PubMed · DOI