Staying mentally active throughout life—by reading, writing, playing games, or even learning a new language—may be linked to a lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease and slower cognitive decline, according to a new study published in Neurology on February 11, 2026.
Researchers emphasize that the study does not prove that lifelong learning prevents Alzheimer’s. However, it does show a strong association between mentally stimulating experiences across life and better brain health in older age.
The study followed 1,939 adults with an average age of 80 who did not have dementia at the beginning of the research.
Participants were tracked for about eight years. During that time, 551 people developed Alzheimer’s disease and 719 developed mild cognitive impairment, a condition that often precedes dementia.
Researchers examined “cognitive enrichment” across three life stages: childhood, midlife and later life. Early-life enrichment included activities such as being read to, reading books, having access to newspapers or atlases at home, and learning a foreign language for more than five years.
Midlife enrichment looked at factors like income level, having books or magazine subscriptions at home, owning a dictionary, holding a library card, and visiting museums or libraries.
Later-life enrichment included how often participants read, wrote or played games, along with overall financial resources in older age.
Each participant received a cognitive enrichment score based on these experiences.
When researchers compared the top 10% of participants with the highest enrichment scores to the bottom 10% with the lowest scores, the differences were striking.
Among those with the highest enrichment, 21% developed Alzheimer’s during the study period. In contrast, 34% of those with the lowest enrichment developed the disease.
After adjusting for age, sex and education, the researchers found that higher lifetime enrichment was linked to a 38% lower risk of Alzheimer’s and a 36% lower risk of mild cognitive impairment.
The timing of diagnosis also differed. People with the highest enrichment developed Alzheimer’s at an average age of 94, compared to 88 for those with the lowest enrichment—a delay of more than five years.
Mild cognitive impairment appeared at age 85 in the high-enrichment group, compared to age 78 in the low-enrichment group, representing a seven-year delay.
In a smaller subgroup of participants who died during the study and donated their brains for research, those with higher enrichment showed better memory and thinking skills before death, even when accounting for Alzheimer’s-related brain changes such as amyloid and tau protein buildup.
Study author Dr. Andrea Zammit of Rush University Medical Center said the findings suggest that exposure to stimulating environments throughout life may play an important role in maintaining cognitive health.
The researchers note one limitation: participants had to recall early and midlife experiences later in life, which may not always be accurate. Still, the results add to growing evidence that keeping the mind active—from childhood through older age—may help support healthier brain aging.
