TLDRA study published in Neurology found that lifelong exposure to intellectually stimulating activities, such as reading, writing, and learning new languages, can lower the risk of Alzheimer’s disease by almost 40% and delay its onset by several years. Researchers followed 1,939 participants for an average of eight years and found that those with the highest level of cognitive enrichment had a 38% lower risk of Alzheimer’s and a 36% lower risk of mild cognitive impairment. The findings suggest that public investments in enriching environments may help reduce the incidence of dementia.

Source: The Guardian February 12, 2026 14:51 UTC