Analysis of UK Biobank data has found that individuals with good grip strength, adequate sleep and low sedentary time had a 57% lower risk of developing dementia compared with those leading less healthy lifestyles. The finding, reported by a British general practitioner, shifts the emphasis in dementia prevention from mental puzzles alone to physical fitness as a measurable, modifiable factor.

In the United States, a long-running study of ‘superagers’—people over 80 whose memory matches that of 50- to 60-year-olds—led by University of Chicago neuroscientist Emily Rogalski, has shown that their brains resist the accumulation of tau protein tangles typical of Alzheimer’s disease, and post-mortem examinations reveal that the anterior cingulate cortex contains four to five times more neurons than in average older adults. Separately, a three-year intervention involving nearly 4,000 participants aged 19 to 94, led by the University of Texas at Dallas with collaborators from Trinity College Dublin, UC Berkeley and Johns Hopkins, demonstrated that brief, regular cognitive exercises improved scores on the BrainHealth Index, a composite measure of clarity, emotional balance and sense of purpose, even in the oldest participants. Researchers in multiple countries also note that common memory lapses—such as forgetting why one entered a room (the ‘doorway effect’) or momentarily failing to recall a name—reflect the brain’s normal context-updating and retrieval processes, not necessarily cognitive decline.

Nutritional epidemiology adds a further layer. A Japanese study of more than 2,000 older adults linked higher plasma vitamin C levels to better memory performance and preserved grey matter volume; the vitamin is concentrated in citrus, kiwifruit, red peppers and leafy greens. British epidemiologist Tim Spector stresses that plant proteins from legumes, mushrooms and whole grains deliver fibre that nourishes gut microbiota, noting that an estimated 90% of adults are fibre-deficient. Argentine cardiologists recommend six food groups—whole grains, leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables, legumes, nuts and fruit—to help control LDL cholesterol, while Egyptian health reporting highlights avocado, blueberries, papaya and nuts for skin-supporting antioxidants and collagen production.

In Iran, psychologists describe hoarding disorder as a distinct condition, citing Yale imaging studies that show heightened activation in brain regions linked to social pain and decision conflict when individuals attempt to discard possessions. Clinical guidelines define the disorder when living spaces become unusable or safety is compromised, and cognitive-behavioural therapy tailored to hoarding is the most effective treatment. The convergence of these findings underscores that brain and body health are shaped by daily behaviours across the lifespan. The next milestones include the expansion of superager studies across five North American cities and the design of community-based cognitive training trials to test scalable interventions.