RESEARCH & EVIDENCE
ResearchCognitive Reserve Research
Your brain's rainy-day fund
Why do some people stay mentally sharp into old age while others decline earlier? One leading explanation is cognitive reserve, the idea that a lifetime of mental engagement builds a buffer that helps your brain cope with age-related changes or even damage.
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Think of cognitive reserve as your brain's rainy-day fund. Education, complex work, social engagement, and learning new skills all seem to contribute to it. Research has shown that people with higher cognitive reserve can sustain more physical brain changes before showing symptoms of decline, essentially, they have more to draw on when it counts.
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