Summary: New research reveals that consistent cognitive engagement from childhood through late adulthood is associated with a significantly lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease. The study, which followed nearly 2,000 individuals, found that those with high “lifetime cognitive enrichment”—activities such as reading, learning languages, and visiting museums—delayed the onset of dementia symptoms by up to five years.
Even when brain autopsies showed physical signs of Alzheimer’s, such as amyloid plaques, those who led intellectually active lives maintained better memory and thinking skills, suggesting a powerful “cognitive reserve” that protects against functional decline.
Key Facts
- Significant Risk Reduction: Individuals in the top 10% for lifetime mental activity had a 38% lower risk of Alzheimer’s and a 36% lower risk of mild cognitive impairment compared to the bottom 10%.
- The Five-Year Buffer: High levels of cognitive enrichment were associated with delaying the onset of Alzheimer’s by five years and mild cognitive impairment by seven years.
- Resilience to Pathology: Autopsy data showed that intellectually active people maintained higher cognitive function even when their brains showed significant protein buildup (amyloid and tau) associated with the disease.
Source: AAN
Engaging in a variety of intellectually stimulating activities throughout life, such as reading, writing and learning a language, is associated with a lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease and slower cognitive decline, according to a new study published on February 11, 2026, in Neurology.
The study does not prove that lifelong learning decreases the risk of Alzheimer’s disease; it only shows an association.
The study found that people with the highest amount of lifelong learning developed Alzheimer’s disease five years later and developed mild cognitive impairment seven years later than those with the lowest amount of lifelong learning.
“Our study looked at cognitive enrichment from childhood to later life, focusing on activities and resources that stimulate the mind,” said study author Andrea Zammit, PhD, of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.
“Our findings suggest that cognitive health in later life is strongly influenced by lifelong exposure to intellectually stimulating environments.”
The study involved 1,939 people with an average age of 80 who did not have dementia at the start of the study. They were followed for an average of eight years.
Participants completed surveys about cognitive activities and learning resources during three stages. Early enrichment, before age 18, included the frequency of being read to and reading books, access to newspapers and atlases in the home, and learning a foreign language for more than five years.
Middle age enrichment included income level at age 40, household resources like magazine subscriptions, dictionaries and library cards and the frequency of activities like visiting a museum or library.
Later life enrichment, starting at average age of 80, included the frequency of reading, writing and playing games and total income from Social Security, retirement and other sources.
Researchers calculated enrichment scores for each participant
During the study, 551 participants developed Alzheimer’s disease and 719 participants developed mild cognitive impairment.
Researchers compared participants with the highest level of cognitive enrichment, the top 10%, with those with the lowest level of cognitive enrichment, the bottom 10%. Of those with the highest level of enrichment, 21% developed Alzheimer’s. Of those with the lowest level, 34% developed Alzheimer’s.
After adjusting for factors such as age, sex and education, researchers found that higher scores in lifetime enrichment were associated with a 38% lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease and a 36% lower risk of mild cognitive impairment.
They found that people with the highest lifetime enrichment developed Alzheimer’s disease at an average age of 94, compared to age 88 for those with the lowest level of enrichment — over a five-year delay.
For mild cognitive impairment, researchers found that people with the highest lifetime enrichment developed mild cognitive impairment at an average age of 85, compared to age 78 for those with the lowest level of enrichment — a seven-year delay.
Researchers also looked at a smaller group of participants who died during the study and had autopsies. They found those with higher lifetime enrichment had better memory and thinking skills and slower decline prior to death, even when researchers accounted for early brain changes linked to Alzheimer’s, like the buildup of proteins called amyloid and tau.
“Our findings are encouraging, suggesting that consistently engaging in a variety of mentally stimulating activities throughout life may make a difference in cognition,” said Zammit.
“Public investments that expand access to enriching environments, like libraries and early education programs designed to spark a lifelong love of learning, may help reduce the incidence of dementia.”
A limitation of the study was that participants reported details about their early and midlife experiences later in life, so they may not have remembered everything accurately.
Funding: The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health and Michael Urbut, former member of the Rush University Board of Governors.
Key Questions Answered:
A: Not at all. While the study emphasizes lifelong habits, “later life enrichment”—like playing games, writing, and reading at age 80—was a key component in building the cognitive resilience that delays symptoms.
A: The study shows a strong association rather than a direct cause-and-effect “cure.” However, it suggests that mental activity builds a “buffer” that allows the brain to function normally for much longer, even if the physical disease is present.
A: No. The study looked at a broad range of activities, including hobbies like visiting museums, reading for pleasure, playing games, and even having a library card. The key isn’t the difficulty level, but the consistent engagement and curiosity throughout different stages of life.
Editorial Notes:
- This article was edited by a Neuroscience News editor.
- Journal paper reviewed in full.
- Additional context added by our staff.
About this learning and Alzheimer’s disease research news
Author: Renee Tessman
Source: AAN
Contact: Renee Tessman – AAN
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Closed access.
“Associations of Lifetime Cognitive Enrichment With Incident Alzheimer Disease Dementia, Cognitive Aging, and Cognitive Resilience” by Andrea R. Zammit, Lei Yu, Victoria N. Poole, Alifiya Kapasi, Robert S. Wilson, and David A. Bennett. Neurology
DOI:10.1212/WNL.0000000000214677
Abstract
Associations of Lifetime Cognitive Enrichment With Incident Alzheimer Disease Dementia, Cognitive Aging, and Cognitive Resilience
Background and Objectives
The effects of lifetime cognitive enrichment on later-life cognitive outcomes are not comprehensively investigated. The aim of this study was to test the association of lifetime cognitive enrichment with Alzheimer disease (AD) dementia and cognitive decline and in an autopsied deceased subset to explore the association between lifetime enrichment and AD and related dementia (ADRD) pathologic indices and cognitive resilience that is, decline after adjusting for common ADRD pathologies.
Methods
This was a longitudinal clinicopathologic study involving older individuals from Northeastern Illinois who participated in the Rush Memory and Aging Project, were free of dementia at baseline, completed surveys reflecting lifetime enrichment, and had annual clinical evaluations.
We constructed a composite measure reflecting lifetime cognitive enrichment and tested its association with incident AD dementia in proportional hazards models, mean age of AD dementia onset in an accelerated failure time model, and cognitive decline using linear mixed-effects models. In a deceased subset, we tested the association of lifetime cognitive enrichment with 9 ADRD pathologies and cognitive resilience.
Results
Participants (n = 1,939, 75% female, mean baseline age = 79.6) completed an average of 7.6 years of follow-up, during which 551 participants developed AD dementia. One unit higher in lifetime enrichment was associated with 38% lower hazards of developing AD dementia (hazard ratio 0.62, 95% CI 0.52–0.73, p < 0.001). High lifetime enrichment (90th percentile) compared with low (10th percentile) was associated with a mean of 5 years delayed onset of AD dementia.
Lifetime enrichment was positively associated with cognitive function at baseline (estimate = 0.31, SE = 0.02, p < 0.001) and a slower rate of cognitive decline (estimate = 0.02, SE = 0.01, p = 0.002). In the deceased subset (n = 948), lifetime cognitive enrichment did not show meaningful associations with neuropathologic indices, but remained associated with higher cognitive function proximate to death (estimate = 0.32, SE = 0.06, p < 0.001) and a slower rate of cognitive decline after adjusting for pathology (estimate = 0.014, SE = 0.01, p = 0.02).
Discussion
Lifetime exposure to cognitive enrichment was related to lower risk of AD dementia and a slower rate of cognitive decline, including after adjustment for common ADRD pathologies, indicating higher resilience provided by lifetime enrichment. Our results suggest that cognitive health in later life is in part the product of lifetime exposure to cognitive enrichment.
