The boring truth about brain food
Everyone wants that magic brain elixir.
You know, that rare substance found at the tippy top of a faraway mountain that only celebrities and influencers know about and use to fend off brain fog and dementia, and optimize deep focus and creativity.
However, the stuff that reliably leads to long term improved health—brain health or any other dimension of health—is often the opposite of magical or exciting…
Which brings us to a new piece of research: A rather enormous longitudinal study which looked at several lifestyle factors known to be important for preventing cognitive decline.1
What the study found
Researchers looked at lifestyle factors thought to be associated with poor cognitive health. They included:
Smoking
Alcohol consumption
Physical activity
Amount of social contact
They wanted to know: How might these lifestyle factors affect cognitive deterioration, individually or synergistically?
To uncover the answer, the researchers crunched ten years’ worth of health and lifestyle data from 32,033 people between the ages of 50 and 104.
The study participants agreed to periodic cognitive testing over 10 years, and filled out self-reports tracking their various lifestyle behaviors.
(They measured differences between the presence or lack of those lifestyle factors using standard deviations, which quantify how much individual values vary from the mean. A standard deviation of zero indicates that all values are identical to the mean.)
All participants were cognitively healthy at the beginning of the study, but over the 10-year follow-up:
The memory scores of non-smokers declined .08 standard deviations less than the memory scores of smokers.
The memory scores of people who consumed less alcohol declined .04 standard deviations less than the scores of people who drank heavily.
There were no independent associations between moderate-to-vigorous physical activity or social contact with slowed memory decline.
“...Associations between lifestyle and cognitive decline primarily depended on whether participants reported smoking,” wrote the researchers.
This doesn’t mean physical activity and social contact offered zero cognitive protection.
In fact, when the researchers looked at how the various lifestyle factors influenced each other, they uncovered synergistic benefits.
As the graph above shows, practicing all behaviors had the biggest effect: The memory scores of people who practiced all four behaviors declined .20 standard deviations less than the scores of people who didn’t practice any of the brain-protective behaviors.
Takeaways
1. Don’t sweat the physical activity finding.
This study finding is a bit of an outlier.
A huge body of research supports the idea that increased levels of physical activity likely protect brain health. Physically active people tend to outperform sedentary people on cognitive tests, and they’re less likely to develop dementia.2,3,4
In one study, cognitive decline was twice as common in inactive adults than it was in active adults.5
Exercise may slow cognitive decline by:
Improving sleep
Decreasing depression, anxiety, and other sources of stress that can harm the brain
Protecting the blood vessels that supply the brain with oxygen and nutrients
Triggering the release of brain molecules that protect brain cells from damage
The same can be said for social contact.6,7
So, don’t take these findings to mean that exercise and social contact do little for the brain because even the study authors wouldn’t make that claim. This study may not have found an individual association, but plenty of other studies have.
2. Smoking takes a big toll on health.
That won’t surprise you.
In addition to raising someone’s risk for dementia, tobacco use also makes cancer, heart disease, lung disease, diabetes, dental problems, osteoporosis, and cataracts more likely.
3. Brain-protective behaviors are cumulative.
Put another way, it’s great if someone cuts back on alcohol. It’s even better if they cut back on alcohol and they quit smoking. Better still: Cutting back on alcohol, quitting smoking, and starting a walking routine with a friend.
This synergy, of course, is an excellent reason for you to sign up for coaching. Because if you want to protect your brain long term, you’ll need to collect and maintain numerous brain-protecting behaviors. As a coach, I’m here to help you do just that.
Closing Thoughts
Brain health isn’t about chasing the next big trend or finding that elusive, magical solution. It’s about consistent, cumulative behaviors that support overall well-being. The findings from this study remind us that the basics—avoiding smoking, moderating alcohol consumption, staying socially connected, and being physically active—are powerful tools for protecting cognitive function over the long haul.
Even small steps can make a big difference, and their effects add up. Whether it’s quitting smoking, taking more walks, or reaching out to a friend, every positive change contributes to building a brain that stays sharp and resilient. The path to cognitive health isn’t flashy, but it’s achievable—and it starts with simple, sustainable habits.
Take care of your body; it’s the only place you have to live.
-Michael Beiter
Personal Trainer
Nutrition, Sleep, Stress Management, and Recovery Coach
References
Bloomberg, Mikaela, Graciela Muniz-Terrera, Laura Brocklebank, and Andrew Steptoe. 2024. Healthy Lifestyle and Cognitive Decline in Middle-Aged and Older Adults Residing in 14 European Countries. Nature Communications 15 (1): 5003.
Mandolesi, Laura, Arianna Polverino, Simone Montuori, Francesca Foti, Giampaolo Ferraioli, Pierpaolo Sorrentino, and Giuseppe Sorrentino. 2018. Effects of Physical Exercise on Cognitive Functioning and Wellbeing: Biological and Psychological Benefits. Frontiers in Psychology 9 (April): 509.
Erickson, Kirk I., Charles Hillman, Chelsea M. Stillman, Rachel M. Ballard, Bonny Bloodgood, David E. Conroy, Richard Macko, et al. 2019. Physical Activity, Cognition, and Brain Outcomes: A Review of the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines._ Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise_ 51 (6): 1242–51.
Kumar, Manish, Shobhit Srivastava, and T. Muhammad. 2022. Relationship between Physical Activity and Cognitive Functioning among Older Indian Adults. Scientific Reports 12 (1): 2725.
Omura, John D., David R. Brown, Lisa C. McGuire, Christopher A. Taylor, Janet E. Fulton, and Susan A. Carlson. 2020. Cross-Sectional Association between Physical Activity Level and Subjective Cognitive Decline among US Adults Aged ≥45 Years, 2015. Preventive Medicine 141 (106279): 106279.
Sommerlad, Andrew, Mika Kivimäki, Eric B. Larson, Susanne Röhr, Kokoro Shirai, Archana Singh-Manoux, and Gill Livingston. 2023. Social Participation and Risk of Developing Dementia._ Nature Aging_ 3 (5): 532–45.
Dodds, Laura, Carol Brayne, and Joyce Siette. 2024. Associations between Social Networks, Cognitive Function, and Quality of Life among Older Adults in Long-Term Care. BMC Geriatrics 24 (1): 221.
