The results of US POINTER, the largest trial to examine how certain lifestyle behaviours can improve brain health, were published in JAMA in 2025.
The participants were randomly assigned to one of two lifestyle intervention groups: one with a structured programme and another with a self-guided programme. Both groups focused on physical activity, diet, cognitive training, social engagement and vascular health over the course of the two-year study.
Both groups showed cognitive improvements throughout the two years of the trial. But participants in the structured lifestyle group did better than people in the self-guided group.
The trial provides “a new recipe” to improve cognitive function and shows specific behaviours matter for brain health, said Laura Baker, a professor of internal medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and the principal investigator of the study.
Exercise was a key part of this recipe. The researchers asked Phyllis Jones, 66, of Aurora, Illinois, and her fellow participants in a structured programme group to do just 10 minutes of exercise a day. But “after all those years of being sedentary, 10 minutes was a good start and that got me going,” Jones said. “Since they took it slow, it made it so that we didn’t get discouraged. We didn’t hurt ourselves.”
Since then, she has lost 13kg, Jones said. Now, she wakes up to do virtual reality workouts in her pyjamas each morning before work and feeding her two dogs and two cats.
To reduce your risk of dementia, sit less, since sitting all day increases dementia risk, and exercise regularly, which can keep your brain sharp.
2. Eat a healthier diet
A Mediterranean diet helps promote healthy brain ageing. Photo / 123rf
Another lifestyle intervention studied in the POINTER trial related to diet. Participants in the structured programme group were encouraged to adhere to the Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet, which is designed to promote healthy brain ageing.
You can try the MIND diet, which calls for more vegetables, berries and nuts, and limits on red and processed meats and sweets. Processed meats are linked to higher rates of dementia and worse cognition, while replacing them with nuts and legumes is associated with lower dementia risk, research shows.
3. Stay connected
The structured group in the POINTER trial also met 38 times with facilitators and fellow participants, received biannual health coaching from a medical adviser, as well as phone calls and clinic visits to assess diet and cardiometabolic health.
Having participants meet their peers offers a social component for support that is “a key ingredient in the intervention,” Baker said.
Feelings of loneliness can increase the risk for dementia, while having strong social connections is a key to cognitive health.
4. Challenge yourself intellectually
Participants in the structured programme group of the trial engaged with a web-based cognitive training programme three times a week. Brain games are another intervention that might improve your cognition.
Find ways of “stretching and using your brain, your memory, your cognition in different ways that’s different for you and that’s pushing the envelope for you,” said Heather Snyder, an author of the POINTER study and the senior vice president of medical and scientific relations at the Alzheimer’s Association, which provided US$50 million to fund the study.
Other research has found that embracing new technologies is associated with cognitive benefits for older adults while video games can be a surprisingly good way to give your cognition a 1-Up.
5. Reduce your alcohol intake
Even light alcohol consumption can increase dementia risk. Photo / DepositPhotos
For years, the common wisdom and science was that a little bit of alcohol wasn’t bad – and even beneficial – for your health: a toast to moderation.
But new research published in BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine suggests that even light alcohol consumption can increase dementia risk.
“I think people should be aware that even a small amount of alcohol intake may have negative cognitive effects down the line,” said Joel Gelernter, a professor of psychiatry, genetics and neuroscience at Yale University School of Medicine and senior author of the study. “And if that’s the most important thing to you, then you ought to reconsider drinking even a small amount.”
The finding comes from data of more than 550,000 adults aged 56 to 72, as well as genetics information from 2.4 million study participants. It adds to evidence that even small amounts of alcohol can be harmful to our health, including increasing the risk of cancer or disrupting sleep.
6. Get vaccinated
Vaccines don’t just protect us from infectious diseases or lessen their effects. Some are also associated with a reduced risk for dementia, research shows.
“They’ll protect against these really potentially severe infections, especially in older adults, and preventing that alone is huge,” said Avram Bukhbinder, a resident physician at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston who has conducted research on vaccines and dementia risk.
“There seems to also be some kind of added benefit, and ultimately it just adds a more compelling reason” to get routine vaccines, he said.
Vaccination against shingles has the strongest evidence for lowering dementia risk and even potentially slowing down dementia progression. But studies have found that many vaccines may be associated with a reduced risk of dementia.
7. Sing your heart out
If there is a song in your soul, sing it out loud – whether in your car on your morning commute or at karaoke with friends. It’s okay if you are not the next Beyonce.
Making music – even if we aren’t especially good at it – can still be good for us.
Music has the power to soothe the mind, promote brain health and bring people closer together, research has consistently shown.
“It can move us emotionally, it can move us physically, it can connect us to other people,” which are all important elements of mental health, said Daniel Bowling, a professor of psychiatry and behavioural sciences at Stanford School of Medicine who researches music-based treatments for mental health.
And while you’re at it, maybe dance a little, too.
8. Take naps
Taking naps can help sharpen your cognition and memory. Photo / 123rf
A simple way to sharpen your cognition and memory is also an enjoyable one: take a nap.
Research shows that napping can not only take the edge off a night of inadequate sleep but also boost our cognitive and learning capabilities. Even a 10-minute nap can have profound effects on our cognition and mood in addition to alleviating afternoon slumps.
Even “short naps can be restorative,” said Michael Chee, the director of the Centre for Sleep and Cognition at the National University of Singapore.