Do brain-training games help prevent cognitive decline?
Brain-training games give healthy older adults at most a temporary and small boost on test scores, but that effect fades over time. People who enjoy them take little risk, but high expectations are not warranted.
Computer training lasting at least twelve weeks shows a small benefit in overall cognition in healthy people aged 65 and over, measured immediately after the programme ends. That effect is not impressive, however, and its real-world meaning is unclear: it comes from two small studies with a combined total of 232 participants. More importantly, in people who were followed for a longer period after training, that benefit had disappeared entirely and no measurable effect remained.
Memory for everyday events improved slightly in people who trained, compared with people who did nothing. But even that finding rests on just one study with 150 participants, so there is little to build firm conclusions on. For working memory, planning and reasoning, and fluency of speech, computer training shows hardly anything. In short: the gains are narrow and limited to a single point in time.
For people aged forty to 65, the picture is frankly unclear. The one available study shows contradictory results: slightly better on planning and reasoning, slightly worse on working memory. That tells us little for now.
In people with mild cognitive impairment (an early stage of memory problems), computer training has not been shown to prevent dementia or improve cognition. No study has tracked how many people actually went on to develop dementia. Serious side effects are unlikely, but the time investment and the cost of commercial programmes are real considerations, particularly for people who are already vulnerable.
No research yet exists on the effects on quality of life or on the ability to function independently in daily life. That is a striking gap, because those are ultimately what matter most.
This answer is based on three combined reviews of the evidence that together summarise several small studies in healthy older adults, middle-aged people, and people with early memory problems. The researchers rated the great majority of the analyses as low or very low quality, mainly because of small participant numbers, risk of bias in the individual studies, and short follow-up periods. Effects on what people actually notice in their daily lives were not measured.
Does regular sauna use protect your brain against decline?
People who used a sauna four to seven times a week developed dementia considerably less often in long-running research than people who went once a week, but whether sauna is the cause is unknown. If you already exercise regularly and have a healthy lifestyle, using the sauna more often is an accessible addition with a plausible biological rationale.
Does olive oil protect your brain from decline?
Extra virgin olive oil as part of the Mediterranean diet has been linked to less cognitive decline in multiple studies, but whether olive oil on its own is the protective factor has not been proven. Anyone wanting to support their brain health is better off following the whole dietary pattern, not just adding olive oil.
Do your brains really shrink as you get older?
Your brain does indeed shrink with age, particularly in areas involved in memory and planning. High blood pressure accelerates that process, while exercise and cognitive effort strengthen your brain's compensatory activity.
Does years of insufficient sleep damage your brain?
Years of insufficient sleep damages the brain through multiple pathways at once, and some of that damage appears difficult or impossible to reverse. Make sure you consistently get enough sleep, and have sleep apnoea treated if you have symptoms of it.
Which lifestyle habits protect your brain health over the long term?
Cognitive activities, a plant-based dietary pattern, and regular exercise, preferably in combination, offer the best-supported protection for your brain over the long term. Hard cause-and-effect evidence is still lacking, but the associations are broad and consistent enough to take seriously.
Can you still reverse early-stage forgetfulness with your lifestyle?
Lifestyle can probably slow early-stage forgetfulness and sometimes partially improve it, but full reversal has not been demonstrated. The most support exists for a combination of exercise, healthy eating, and staying cognitively active.