Staying active and social in old age seems to do good things for a key part of the brain linked to memory, called the entorhinal cortex.

This part tends to get messed up in people with Alzheimer’s, even in the early stages. We already know that regular exercise is good for our health, protecting against things like heart problems, diabetes, and obesity.

Healthy aging

But what about different activities—like physical exercise, socializing, and using our brains? Researchers from the University of Zurich decided to find out.

They looked at data from a big study on how the brain and behavior change as people get older. The goal was to figure out how the thickness of the entorhinal cortex, memory skills, and various activities are connected in adults over 65, over a seven-year period.

This entorhinal cortex is about 3.5 millimeters thick and is part of the brain’s cortex in the inner part of the temporal lobe. It’s crucial for learning and memory, and it’s one of the first areas affected by Alzheimer’s disease. So, the study aims to shed light on how different activities may affect the brain health of older folks.

Staying active

“Our findings show that in people who were more physically and socially active at the beginning of the study, the thickness of their entorhinal cortex decreased less over the seven-year period,” the researchers say.

The study also revealed a close connection between the thickness of the entorhinal cortex and memory abilities. When the thickness of this part of the brain didn’t decrease much during the study, people tended to experience less decline in their memory performance.

“Physical exercise and an active social life with friends and family are therefore important for brain health and can prevent neurodegeneration in later life,” the authors continue.

The study demonstrated that those who had better memory performance at the start of the research experienced a slower decline in memory performance as the study progressed.

“These findings support the idea that we have a ‘cognitive reserve,’ and that the brain can be trained throughout our lives like a muscle to counteract age-related decline,” the authors conclude.