Lifetime learning may help brain health
Studies show older people who take educational classes benefit cognitively
Keeping the brain active with challenging activities helps to keep the brain healthy and possibly improve cognitive performance.
But research says taking a step up from games and puzzles to engage in substantial learning, such as the educational courses offered by organizations such as Oasis or AARP, can have even greater benefits for older adults.
A 2023 UK study reported that “participation in adult education classes in middle to old age was associated with greater retention of fluid intelligence and a lower risk of developing dementia more than five years later.” A study of US adults in 2025 reported a similar result, that “Later-life learning was associated with better cognitive function over time.”
That US study, based on data collected for the ongoing Health and Retirement Study by the National Institute on Aging and the University of Michigan further said:
The results indicate that a 70-year-old who engaged in any later-life learning (regardless of the frequency) had better cognitive function than a 65-year-old who reported never participating in later-life learning. This suggests a nearly 6-year age difference in cognitive function associated with later-life learning.
As is often the case, this evidence must be considered in light of the fact that it shows just associations, not cause and effect. The research looked at changes over time in a large sample of individuals and used statistical processes to evaluate the likelihood that engaging in late-life learning was correlated with greater cognitive ability and/or lower risk of dementia. Statistically, the association existed.
Factors behind the effects
This research agenda was at least partially inspired by the documented connection between less education in early life and greater risk of dementia. In 2020, a commission associated with the British medical journal The Lancet identified low educational attainment as one of 12 major risk factors for dementia. The commission said that less education in early life is estimated to account for approximately 7 to 20 percent of dementia risk.
Researchers hypothesized that late-life learning could help offset that effect, and some of the evidence does point in that direction. The benefits noted in the large US study were slightly greater in women than in men, but no differences associated with race/ethnicity or prior education level were found. In other words, the study found that those with less education as young people — e.g., someone who didn’t complete high school — benefited from later-life learning to the same degree as those with more schooling.
The idea of “cognitive reserve” may help explain the impacts of later-life continuing education. Cognitive reserve is the brain’s ability to maintain its function despite aging, injury, or disease. It helps individuals to better manage neuropathology – such as the brain changes that can cause dementia – to maintain their cognitive health. According to Harvard Medical School, “Research has shown that people with greater cognitive reserve are better able to stave off symptoms of degenerative brain changes associated with dementia or other brain diseases.”
Later-life learning may help build that cognitive reserve, some researchers have found. A 2020 study from Ireland concluded that late life education “may contribute to cognitive reserve and be a useful intervention to mitigate the increased risk of cognitive decline associated with low levels of education.”
As the researchers who used the U.S. Health and Retirement Study data concluded:
Lifelong learning represents a cost-effective strategy with substantial potential to mitigate cognitive decline and enhance mental health during the aging process, making it a valuable intervention.
High school or college could have been a long time ago for many of us, but maybe it’s time to think about hitting the books again for a boost in cognitive health.
Minor edits to this article for style and content were made on March 12.
Lifelong learning opportunities
Older adults who want to keep learning about a wide variety of topics in a classroom setting – including virtual ones – can take advantage of options such as:
AARP’s Senior Planet, which offers structured, multi-week courses on topics such as financial security, creative expression, health and wellness, and civic participation and also individual lectures, workshops, guest speakers and special events.
Oasis Everywhere, the virtual component for Oasis, a national nonprofit organization offering enriching programs for retirees including special interest classes, health programs and volunteering opportunities. Oasis also has centers in many cities that offer in-person classes, including Oasis Rochester in Aging … better’s hometown of Rochester N.Y.