Could staying curious help protect your brain as you grow older?
According to new research from UCLA and other universities, the answer might be yes.
The study, published in PLOS One, found that certain types of curiosity not only continue well into old age but may even help fend off cognitive decline, including Alzheimer’s disease.
Curiosity isn’t just one thing. Psychologists divide it into two types: trait curiosity and state curiosity.
Trait curiosity is a general tendency to be interested in learning new things, while state curiosity is more specific—it’s that feeling of wanting to know the answer to a particular question or learn about a specific topic.
For example, you might not usually be curious about history, but if someone asks you which country was the first to allow women to vote (it’s New Zealand, by the way), you might suddenly want to know the answer.
Previous studies have suggested that curiosity tends to fade with age, but the UCLA researchers thought that didn’t match what they were seeing in their older study participants.
“We often saw older adults who were deeply interested in learning new things, especially about memory or trivia,” said UCLA psychologist Alan Castel, the senior author of the study.
To understand this better, the research team tested both types of curiosity in a group of people aged 20 to 84.
Participants answered questions about how curious they generally felt—this measured their trait curiosity. Then, to measure state curiosity, they were asked to guess the answers to challenging trivia questions and rate how interested they were in learning the correct answers.
The results were surprising. While trait curiosity—the general thirst for learning—did decline with age, state curiosity actually increased. Younger adults were less curious about specific trivia, but as people aged, their interest in learning specific new information grew. This pattern continued well into old age, mirroring studies that show happiness often dips in midlife but rises again later.
Researchers believe this may happen because younger adults are focused on building careers, raising families, and managing busy lives, so their curiosity is spread across many responsibilities.
As people grow older, their schedules tend to clear up, allowing them to explore specific interests more deeply. Castel suggested that older adults often choose to learn about things that are meaningful to them, like taking classes, picking up new hobbies, or enjoying bird watching.
The study’s findings also link curiosity to brain health. Castel noted that people who experience early stages of dementia often lose interest in things they once enjoyed.
This suggests that staying curious and actively learning might help protect against cognitive decline. “As we get older, maybe we want to focus on things that are important and forget what’s less relevant,” Castel said.
He believes the key to staying sharp as we age might be keeping that spark of curiosity alive.
Engaging with things that truly interest you, whether it’s learning new skills, exploring hobbies, or diving into trivia, could be more than just fun—it might be a way to keep your brain healthy and strong.
If you care about brain health, please read studies about dietary strategies to ward off dementia, and how omega-3 fatty acids fuel your mind.
For more health information, please see recent studies about Choline deficiency linked to Alzheimer’s disease, and what to eat (and avoid) for dementia prevention.
Source: UCLA.
