{"id":4057,"date":"2026-02-13T17:00:53","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T17:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bangbizarre.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/13\/reading-and-writing-staves-off-dementia\/"},"modified":"2026-02-13T17:00:55","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T17:00:55","slug":"reading-and-writing-staves-off-dementia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bangbizarre.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/13\/reading-and-writing-staves-off-dementia\/","title":{"rendered":"Reading and writing staves off dementia"},"content":{"rendered":"

2026-02-13 17:00:53<\/b>
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Curling up with a good book or writing in a diary could slash your dementia risk by almost 40 per cent.

\nResearchers found that lifelong exposure to intellectually stimulating environments \u2014 from being read to as a child to regular reading in later life \u2014 has a powerful impact on brain health.

\nStudy 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.

\nShe said: “Our findings are encouraging, suggesting that consistently engaging in a variety of mentally stimulating activities throughout life may make a difference in cognition.

\n“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.”

\nThe 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.

\nDuring the study, 551 developed Alzheimer\u2019s disease and 719 developed mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

\nThose in the top 10 per cent for lifetime mental enrichment fared far better. Just 21 per cent developed Alzheimer\u2019s, compared to 34 per cent in the bottom 10 per cent.

\nAfter adjusting for age, sex and education, higher enrichment scores were linked to a 38 per cent lower risk of Alzheimer\u2019s and a 36 per cent lower risk of MCI.

\nBrain benefits also showed up in timing. The most mentally active group developed Alzheimer\u2019s at an average age of 94 \u2014 compared to 88 in the least enriched group.

\nDr Isolde Radford, of Alzheimer\u2019s Research UK, said: “This new research shows that staying mentally active throughout life can cut the risk of Alzheimer\u2019s disease by nearly 40 per cent.

\n“This supports what we already know about the preventive steps people can take to reduce their risk of developing dementia.”
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