"Keep your brain young!" "Boost memory in minutes!" Brain-training claims are everywhere, and many of them go far beyond the evidence. So what does solid research actually say? One of the best places to look is the ACTIVE study, a large trial funded by the National Institutes of Health.
What was ACTIVE?
ACTIVE (Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly) enrolled 2,832 adults with an average age of 74 who were living independently. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three short training programs, or to a group that received no training:
- Memory training: strategies for remembering word lists and details of stories.
- Reasoning training: finding patterns and solving problems in sequences.
- Speed-of-processing training: computer exercises to spot information quickly on a screen.
Training consisted of ten sessions over about five to six weeks, and some participants received "booster" sessions later. Researchers then followed people for ten years.
What did they find?
According to the National Institute on Aging, which summarized the 10-year results published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society in 2014:
- Reasoning: 74% of people who had reasoning training were still at or above their starting level on reasoning tests after ten years, compared with 62% of people who had no training.
- Speed: 71% of the speed-training group were at or above their starting level, compared with 49% of the untrained group.
- Memory: the memory-training group's advantage on memory tests had faded by the ten-year mark.
- Daily life: people in all three training groups reported less difficulty with everyday tasks, such as managing medications or finances, than the untrained group.
What it doesn't mean
It's easy to overstate results like these, so here are the limits:
- ACTIVE tested specific training programs, not crosswords, apps or printed puzzles in general.
- Improvements were strongest on the skills that were trained.
- The study does not show that training prevents or treats Alzheimer's disease or dementia.
The bigger picture
Mental activity is one piece of a larger puzzle. The 2024 Lancet Commission on dementia identified 14 modifiable risk factors linked to nearly half of dementia cases worldwide. They include less education early in life, hearing loss, untreated vision loss, high blood pressure, physical inactivity, depression and social isolation. In other words, a healthy brain is supported by many habits: moving, sleeping, treating hearing and vision problems, staying connected with people and staying mentally engaged.
So, are brain activities worth it?
A reasonable takeaway: regular, varied, mentally engaging activities are a good use of time, especially when they are enjoyable and done with other people. They are not a cure, and anyone who promises otherwise is overselling. That's why at Mind Mornings we focus on what activities can honestly offer: structure, a small daily goal, conversation and the satisfaction of finishing something.
Sources
- Ten-year ACTIVE results: National Institute on Aging, summarizing Rebok G.W. et al., Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2014.
- Dementia risk factors: 2024 Lancet Commission on dementia (UCL news summary, July 2024).
