The brain can improve at any age

It's never too late for the brain. Scientific research never ceases to amaze with its studies on brain activity and prevention: now, thanks to an American study, we know that it can improve at any age, and that these advances affect the intensity of its activity (and therefore memory), clarity, and balance. Confirmation comes from an important studio, Entitled “Measuring and increasing the brain health span across adulthood: a public health imperative” (in Italian: “ Measuring and Improving the Span of Brain Health in Adulthood: A Public Health Priority”), published in June 2026 on Scientific Reports", coordinated by Sandra Bond Chapman, founder and director of the Center for Brain Health at the University of Texas at Dallas.

For a long period, three years, the University of Texas team followed 4 people, aged between 19 and 94, to understand how a protocol specifically designed for the brain worked. Exercises and strategies to improve attention and memory, recommendations on sleep needs for their respective ages, stress management, and nutrition. All to determine whether the therapeutic program produced results for the brains of the subjects tested, regardless of their age.

The result of the study was, in some respects, surprising: Brain health is not only determined by chronological age, and even in adulthood and later life, there can be measurable improvements in cognitive ability and mental well-being when people adopt targeted strategies.

The values ​​improved at all ages and in particular with respect to three major areas of brain functioning examined:

• Cognitive clarity (Clarity): aspects related to mental functioning, such as reasoning ability and information management.
• Connection (Connectedness): social engagement and sense of purpose.
• Emotional Balance: ability to manage stress and maintain good psychological well-being.

The results were calculated with the Brain Health Index, with which a score is assigned on the ability to think and reason, on social involvement (fundamental for the health of the brain which suffers a lot from the solitude), on psychological resilience and emotional stability. And here too, there was an important confirmation: anyone who committedly followed the protocol, at any age and with any starting score, saw an improvement in their brain health.

The conclusion of American scientists is that if it is true that the brain cannot rejuvenate and its aging cannot be cancelled and erased, it is possible to increase one's own health span cerebral, that is, the years lived maintaining good cognitive, social and emotional abilities, without entering a path of continuous and inexorable decline. And thehealth span It is absolutely independent from what is written on the identity card: a person over 70 with a good memory, curiosity, active social relationships and the ability to learn new things, can have a high brain health span; while a young thirty-year-old experiencing a strong cognitive decline, with social isolation or emotional difficulties may have a reduced brain health span, even though his chronological age is much lower.

Further studies will provide a hierarchy of the factors that determine brain improvement. Meanwhile, we know that those considered most important at the moment are:

• regular physical activity (especially aerobic exercise);
• adequate sleep;
• stimulating social relationships;
• continuous learning;
• balanced diet;
• stress management;
• avoid harmful factors such as alcohol abuse or prolonged sedentary lifestyle.

Here you can find Here are some helpful tips to protect your brain, knowing, as this American research also confirms, that the brain can improve at any age, but not by turning back time: it changes, adapts, and can become more effective in many ways thanks to experience and the right stimuli.

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