2026-02-13 17:00:53
Curling up with a good book or writing in a diary could slash your dementia risk by almost 40 per cent.
Researchers found that lifelong exposure to intellectually stimulating environments — from being read to as a child to regular reading in later life — has a powerful impact on brain health.
Study author Andrea Zammit, of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, said cognitive health in later life was “strongly influenced” by lifelong exposure to intellectually stimulating environments.
She said: “Our findings are encouraging, suggesting that consistently engaging in a variety of mentally stimulating activities throughout life may make a difference in cognition.
“Public investments that expand access to enriching environments, like libraries and early education programmes designed to spark a lifelong love of learning, may help reduce the incidence of dementia.”
The team tracked 1,939 people with an average age of 80 who were dementia-free at the start, following them for around eight years. Participants were quizzed on early-life habits like reading books and learning a foreign language, midlife activities such as museum visits and library use, and later-life pursuits including reading, writing and playing games.
During the study, 551 developed Alzheimer’s disease and 719 developed mild cognitive impairment (MCI).
Those in the top 10 per cent for lifetime mental enrichment fared far better. Just 21 per cent developed Alzheimer’s, compared to 34 per cent in the bottom 10 per cent.
After adjusting for age, sex and education, higher enrichment scores were linked to a 38 per cent lower risk of Alzheimer’s and a 36 per cent lower risk of MCI.
Brain benefits also showed up in timing. The most mentally active group developed Alzheimer’s at an average age of 94 — compared to 88 in the least enriched group.
Dr Isolde Radford, of Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “This new research shows that staying mentally active throughout life can cut the risk of Alzheimer’s disease by nearly 40 per cent.
“This supports what we already know about the preventive steps people can take to reduce their risk of developing dementia.”
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