Researchers Found a Way to Reduce Cognitive Decline

Unless you’re a character in a science-fiction story, you’re going to get older as time passes. (Sorry, Bryan Johnson.) The fact that this is a universal phenomenon doesn’t make it any less frustrating. One of the biggest causes for concern is the increased risk of cognitive decline that comes with old age, but one recent study offered something of a roadmap on how to reduce that risk.

The study, published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association, involved over 2,100 adults between the ages of 60 and 79 who were at risk of cognitive decline or dementia. Half of the study’s participants were placed into a highly structured series of interventions to address cognitive health; the other half “were asked to come up with their own plan to eat better and exercise more,” per NPR’s Jon Hamilton.

The age of the participants was not the only factor involved in their selection. The researchers also chose adults who were sedentary and “had a suboptimal diet,” as well as having at least two other risk factors for cognitive decline or dementia. For the group undergoing the structured intervention, activities included aerobic, resistance and flexibility training, along with cognitive training and adherence to the MIND diet.

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While both groups performed above baseline cognitive levels, the study participants who undertook the more intensive and supervised version performed better.

“These people are obtaining cognitive function scores that are similar to people [like them who are] one to two years younger than they are,” professor Laura Baker, a lead investigator of the study, told NPR.

NPR has more details on the results of what’s known as the POINTER study, which was supported by the Alzheimer’s Association. While the association in question spent $50 million conducting this study, that isn’t the end of its financial connection to it; it will invest millions more to apply actionable items learned over the course of the study.

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Tobias Carroll

Tobias Carroll lives and writes in New York City, and has been covering a wide variety of subjects — including (but not limited to) books, soccer and drinks — for many years. His writing has been published by the likes of the Los Angeles Times, Pitchfork, Literary Hub, Vulture, Punch, the New York Times and Men’s Journal. At InsideHook, he has…