What Six Well-Known Studies Say About Keeping Memory Sharp After 60

Most people over 60 know the moment: a name that will not come, a room entered for a reason that has slipped away. Those lapses are common, and researchers have spent decades asking which everyday habits go along with a memory that holds up well. Six studies come up again and again. We went back to the original papers to see what each one actually measured.

Study 1A year of walking, and a larger memory center

In a trial published in PNAS, 120 older adults were randomly assigned to a walking program, three days a week for a year, or to a stretching and toning program. [1] MRI scans showed that the hippocampus, a brain region central to memory, grew by about 2 percent in the walking group, while it shrank slightly in the stretching group.

Both groups did better on a spatial memory test after the year. In the walking group, larger gains in hippocampal size went along with larger memory gains. [1]

Study 2Learning something hard, not just staying busy

The Synapse Project, published in Psychological Science, asked 221 adults aged 60 to 90 to spend about 15 hours a week for three months on an assigned activity. [2] Some learned demanding new skills, such as digital photography or quilting. Others spent the time on familiar, low-effort activities, such as socializing or listening to music.

The volunteers who learned demanding new skills showed larger improvements in episodic memory, the kind you use to recall events and details. [2] Being busy was not enough; the challenge seemed to matter.

The pattern across these studies is consistent: what you do with an ordinary week is connected to how your memory holds up. Very little of it is exotic, and most of it is free.

The Health Desk

Study 3An olive oil and nuts version of the Mediterranean diet

In a randomized trial in Barcelona, 447 volunteers with an average age of about 67 followed one of three eating patterns for a median of about four years: a Mediterranean diet with extra olive oil, a Mediterranean diet with a daily handful of mixed nuts, or advice to follow a lower-fat diet. [3]

Memory scores were better in the nuts group than in the comparison group, and the olive oil group did better on tests of attention and planning. In the comparison group, scores drifted down over the same period. [3]

Study 4What happens in the brain during sleep

A study in Science looked at sleep in mice. [4] During sleep, the space between brain cells widened by about 60 percent, and waste molecules that build up while the brain is awake were cleared roughly twice as fast.

This was an animal study. It describes a mechanism and does not show the same effect in people. It is still a useful reminder that sleep is an active process, not just time off.

Study 5Choline on the plate

Choline is a nutrient found in eggs, fish, meat, beans and some vegetables. In the Framingham Offspring Cohort, researchers estimated the diets of 1,391 adults and gave them memory tests. [5] People who ate more choline around the time of testing tended to score better on verbal and visual memory.

This was an observational study. It shows a link between diet and test scores, not proof that choline caused the difference.

Study 6Staying close to people

A review in Ageing Research Reviews pooled 19 long-term studies on social life and later health. [6] People with low social participation, infrequent contact with others or more loneliness were more likely to develop dementia during follow-up.

These studies show an association, not cause and effect. They do suggest that keeping in touch with friends and family belongs on the same list as walking and sleep.

Before anything elseWhen to talk to a doctor

Ordinary lapses tend to stay ordinary. Make an appointment if you, or the people close to you, notice any of these:

• asking the same question again and again;
• getting lost in places you know well;
• trouble following a recipe, directions or a conversation;
• changes in mood, personality or judgment.

Several causes of memory trouble, such as medication side effects, low vitamin B12, thyroid problems or poor sleep, can be found at an ordinary check-up. A supplement is not a substitute for that visit. If you take medication, ask your doctor or pharmacist before starting any supplement. St. John's wort, one of the ingredients in the advertised formula, interacts with many medications, including antidepressants, blood thinners and birth control.