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Here\u2019s How Your Biological Age Impacts Your BrainThe Good Brigade – Getty Images<\/p>\n
Lowering your biological age could have a big impact on your brain health.<\/p>\n
Lifestyle factors that are already considered healthy can help.<\/p>\n
More research needs to be done to learn which have the most impact. <\/p>\n
Biological age, and doing what you can to lower yours, has been a hot topic for years. But it can be tricky to know what having a low biological age actually means beyond bragging rights. Now, preliminary research suggests that lowering your biological age could have a big impact on your brain health.<\/p>\n
The preliminary study<\/a>, which will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology\u2019s 78th Annual Meeting in April, analyzed data from nearly 259,000 people who participated in a healthcare research database. The researchers measured 18 biomarkers in the participants\u2019 blood, including cholesterol, average red blood cell volume, and white blood cell count to determine the participants\u2019 biological age at the start of the study and again six years later. The researchers also took note of the study participants who had a stroke over an average of 10 years.<\/p>\n Some study participants took tests to measure their memory and thinking skills, and had brain scans to look at signs of damage in the brain.<\/p>\n When the study began, the participants had an average biological age of 54 compared to their actual (chronological) age of 56. Six years later, they had an average biological age of 58, which was still lower than their actual age of 62.<\/p>\n Meet the experts: Cyprien Rivier, M.D<\/a>., lead study author and an instructor in the Department of Neurology at Yale School of Medicine; Dung Trinh, M.D<\/a>., internist at MemorialCare Medical Group and chief medical officer of the Healthy Brain Clinic in Irvine, CA; Clifford Segil, D.O<\/a>., a neurologist at Providence Saint John\u2019s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA.<\/p>\n But the researchers discovered that people with a biological age that was older than their chronological age had worse scores on cognitive tests than their biologically younger counterparts. They also had a 41% higher risk of stroke.<\/p>\n Participants who improved the gap between the start of the study and the follow-up were 23% less likely to have a stroke during the follow-up period. These participants also had a 13% lower volume of white matter hyperintensities, which are a sign of damaged white matter tissue. (White matter<\/a> improves the speed and transmission of electrical nerve signals in the brain.)<\/p>\n \u201cWhite matter hyperintensities accumulate progressively and are strongly associated with cognitive decline and dementia,\u201d says Cyprien Rivier, M.D<\/a>., lead study author and an instructor in the Department of Neurology at Yale School of Medicine. \u201cSo, the benefit we observed extended beyond stroke prevention to the structural integrity of the brain.\u201d<\/p>\n What\u2019s behind this and, more importantly, how can you lower your biological age for brain health, too? Here\u2019s what doctors suggest.<\/p>\n How can improving your biological age support brain health?<\/p>\n It\u2019s important to point out that the study didn\u2019t prove that lowering your biological age will improve brain health. Instead, it found a link between those who were able to lower their biological age and a lowered risk of stroke and white matter tissue damage.<\/p>\n But there are a few theories on what could be behind this. \u201cThe behaviors most likely to influence biological aging\u2014blood pressure management, physical activity, diet, sleep\u2014are the same ones we already know support cardiovascular and brain health,\u201d Dr. Rivier says. \u201cOur findings suggest these behaviors may exert their protective effects, at least in part, by slowing biological aging.\u201d<\/p>\n