Learning Quilting Beat Just Socializing for Older Adults’ Memory in One Study

The National Institute on Aging keeps a guide to cognitive health, meaning the ability to think, learn and remember clearly. NIA scientists and experts reviewed it on June 11, 2024. The guide lists everyday steps that research suggests may lower the risk of cognitive decline and help older adults keep their thinking skills.¹

The guide isn’t new, and it isn’t a single study. It’s a practical roundup that is candid about which habits have strong evidence and which are still promising. The NIA frames these as ways to reduce risk and help maintain thinking skills, not guarantees.¹

The advice fits with the 2024 Lancet Commission on dementia, published July 31, 2024, which looked at 14 risk factors people can change.²³ One summary of that report says fully addressing all 14 could prevent up to 45% of dementia cases.⁴

Here are seven steps drawn from the NIA guide that a person could start this week.

1. Keep an eye on blood pressure and other numbers

Observational studies show that high blood pressure in midlife (your 40s to early 60s) raises the risk of cognitive decline later on. In the SPRINT MIND study, people 50 and older who brought their systolic blood pressure (the top number) under 120 had a lower risk of mild cognitive impairment over five years of treatment.¹

Related: Reading for Pleasure Linked to Better Brain Health From Childhood to Old Age

The NIA also recommends getting recommended screenings and managing diabetes, depression and high cholesterol.¹ High LDL cholesterol was one of two new risk factors the Lancet Commission added in 2024.²³

2. Fix what you can about hearing, vision, sleep and habits

The NIA advises treating hearing or vision loss, limiting alcohol, quitting smoking and getting generally seven to nine hours of sleep.¹ Untreated vision loss was the Lancet Commission’s other new risk factor, and hearing loss is on its list too.²³

3. Get moving

Federal guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes (2.5 hours) of physical activity a week. The NIA points to studies linking activity with brain health and says more research is needed on whether it helps prevent decline.¹

4. Learn something that’s actually hard

In one study, older adults who learned quilting or digital photography had greater memory gains than those who only socialized or did less demanding activities.¹ The quilting circle seems to work best if you actually quilt.

In the large ACTIVE trial, which followed people over 10 years, those trained in reasoning and speed of processing declined less than the memory-training and control groups. The NIA is supporting a bigger trial of speed training. It cautions that there isn’t enough evidence that commercial brain-training apps match the ACTIVE training, and that evidence for lasting benefit from engagement activities is not definitive.¹

5. Call somebody

Early results from the I-CONECT trial, with almost 200 adults aged 75 and older, showed regular internet calls could help lower the risk of cognitive decline and social isolation. Health and Retirement Study data on more than 7,000 adults 65 and older linked high social engagement to better cognitive health.¹

To find company, the NIA suggests an Area Agency on Aging, a senior center, a public library, other community organizations or online groups.¹

6. Eat well, without chasing a miracle menu

Evidence on the Mediterranean and MIND diets is mixed. A recent MIND diet trial found only small improvements in thinking, similar to a comparison diet with mild calorie cutting.¹

The NIA says no vitamin or supplement is currently recommended to prevent Alzheimer’s or other cognitive decline, though recent trials found a daily multivitamin may improve memory and cognition in older adults.¹

7. Review your medicines with a doctor

Some medicines can impair thinking in older adults, including antihistamines, sleep aids, antipsychotics, muscle relaxants and some bladder and stomach-cramp drugs.¹ Sleep aids on that list make for an awkward overlap with step two. The NIA advises talking with a doctor before changing any prescribed medication.¹

None of these steps is a guarantee. Several of them start with a phone call, to a doctor or to a friend.