3 Ways To Lower Your Mental Age & Keep Your Brain Young

The cliche you’re only as old as you feel holds some truth. Most adults report feeling younger than their actual age by up to 20%. While signs of aging (like creaky joints or wrinkles) remind us that time is indeed passing, keeping a positive self-perception of aging and viewing yourself as young is related to brain health.

Researchers of a 2018 study used a survey to evaluate people’s subjective age and an MRI scan to objectively measure brain aging. They found that elderly folks who felt younger than their actual age showed fewer signs of brain aging than those who felt older. 

Since brain health and your mental perception of aging may be more closely entwined than once thought, slowing down brain aging can help keep you mentally and physically young. 

Aging impacts the size of the brain (with the organ’s weight declining around 5% each decade after 40), blood flow to the brain, and overall cognition. 

"While there's no test you can take at home to definitively say how 'old' or 'young' your brain is, we can think of a young and healthy brain as being at peak function," brain researcher Marc Milstein, Ph.D., writes in his book The Age-Proof Brain.

Peak function for different aspects of mental capacity occurs at different times throughout your adult life. For example, research shows short-term memory seems to peak around age 25 before starting to drop off around 35. But vocabulary abilities can continue to increase well into your 60s.  

Milstein notes that balance and memory are key determinants that are tied to how “old” your brain is. Additionally, research points to social connections as a driver of brain resiliency with age.

Focusing on these three areas may be exactly what you need to help keep your brain young and spry. 

Balance (aka your overall stability) protects the brain in multiple ways. 

First, having stellar balance only helps prevent falls. Falling from a seemingly routine activity (like walking or getting out of the shower, can lead to significant injuries that impact your mobility, how you go about your day-to-day life, and your mental health (it’s often linked to depression). It can sway your self-perception of aging in an older direction while accelerating aging processes in the brain.

Second, balance training enhances neuroplasticity (aka the brain’s ability to change and adapt to new experiences) and cognitive functioning. 

Having stellar balance not only helps prevent falls (an unwelcome concern that accompanies aging), but it can also enhance neuroplasticity (aka its ability to change and adapt to new experiences) and cognitive functioning. Balance exercise engages your mind and your body. Dance, pilates, yoga, tai chi, and even throwing a ball are all activities that can improve your balance and your brain in the long run. 

2.

Keep your memory sharp 

Occasionally forgetting where you put your keys or a friend of a friend’s name is normal at any age. However, memory loss is not a normal or unavoidable part of aging. 

The brain doesn’t hold onto information it doesn’t find important, so you can actually train your brain to help retain information better and improve long-term brain health. This can include playing research-backed brain games like Brain HQ or Cognifit or doing crosswords or Sudoku. 

The power of sleep, meditation, and giving your brain enough breaks also shouldn’t be overlooked and can help improve your memory ASAP. 

What you eat also impacts brain health. Diets that focus on fiber, fruits, and vegetables (therefore antioxidants), and healthy omega-3 fats can help protect the brain from inflammation and early cognitive damage. But most people don’t get the nutrients they need from diet alone. 

Multivitamins are used by many people to help fill the gaps in what their diet may be lacking. Researchers of a study published in 2023 found that taking a daily multivitamin helped older adults enhance their memory recall and maintain better cognitive health overall. 

In this study, over 3,500 adults over 60 were randomly assigned to take either a standard multivitamin or placebo for three years. Even after just one year, those taking the multivitamin had significantly better recall. At the end of three years, those taking the multi had a clear slowing of cognitive aging by about years. Here’s a list of our favorite multivitamins. 

3.

Maintain close (& meaningful) relationships 

Research shows that long periods of loneliness are linked to accelerated memory aging (especially in women). On the other hand, maintaining strong social connections helps promote brain health and decrease the risk of cognitive decline and dementia. 

Regardless of age, having face-to-face interactions with others does wonders for your memory (and mood). Whether you’re enjoying meals with friends and family, volunteering in your community, or taking a walk with a friend can foster a sense of belonging and connection.