Want a younger brain? Get creative!

Getting Creative and refining your expertise could take years off your brain age!

 Being creative doesn’t just feel good — it may actually keep your brain younger.

New research published in Nature Communications shows that creative activities can slow down brain aging and improve brain health.

Researchers studied over 200 people, comparing creative “experts” and non-experts across activities like dance, music, visual arts, and even video games. The results were striking.

People who had developed strong skills in a creative activity had brains that appeared 5–6 years younger than those who hadn’t. Their brains showed stronger connections and more efficient communication, especially in areas that usually decline with age.

Even better news? You don’t have to be an expert to benefit. People who had only recently started learning a creative skill still had brains that looked about 3 years younger on average.

So what’s going on? The researchers found that creative activities help the brain stay flexible and adaptable — like a workout that strengthens how brain cells talk to each other.

Two things mattered most:

1. How often people engaged in creative activities
    
2. How skilled or challenged they became over time
    

The takeaway: Regular creative pursuits — even small ones — can support brain health and help slow aging. You don’t need to be a professional artist or performer to see benefits.

So why not pick something fun? Learn an instrument, join a theatre group, try painting, play chess, or explore a new hobby that sparks your imagination. Anything that gets your creative juices flowing counts.

Your brain will thank you. Let’s get creative! 

Written: Jan 2026

Maintaining your social connections as you age could help you to live a longer life.

Researchers examining the link between social connections and early death in The Journal of  'The American Geriatrics Society' have looked at the relationship between 2268 participants of 65 yrs + lifestyle behaviours and the deviation between their biological and chronological age. 

Acknowledging that socialising can feel a little harder as we age, the authors stress that it's worth trying to do so, with their evidence indicating that participants with high social engagement levels were 42% less likely to die an early death.

They identified that approximately half of the effect was likely due to exercise, with participants who had more social connections being more active, with the other half of the effect coming from decelerated biological aging. 

 So, how much social engagement is actually needed to reap any benefit. 

Another study in the 'Journal of Epidemiology and Public Health' looking at an older group of 28,000 participants in their 80s gives an indication, aligning with this research that the more we socialise the better, But benefits can be gained from even monthly connection. 

Indeed, the group that experienced the highest protection from early death were those that socialised daily, but an impact was shown from weekly or even monthly connection.

It's certainly a reason for us to motivate ourselves to maintain social connections, but also for our loved ones to visit for a cuppa!

Written: Nov 2025

Creating daily Micro-habits' could increase your chances of reaching your wellness goals

Habits are powerful things. We probably all know someone who has struggled to stop a negative habit and just how difficult this is. 

One of the reasons for this is that repeated behaviours create neural pathways in the brain, making them more automatic and efficient, but this can also lead to rigid patterns and difficulty changing. 

Positive habits, however, like exercise can boost brain health, stimulating neurogenesis (the creation of new neurones) whilst also wiring your brain to make this positive behaviour more automatic.

Often when we commit to a new exercise regime or nutritional plan we go all out, planning to go to the gym or take part in our chosen exercise for extended periods of time or perhaps, when adopting a new diet, we throw out the old one completely and expect ourselves to be able to adopt the new one in it's whole, even when that might mean multiple behaviour changes.   

Science suggests that creating micro-habits could be a more successful route, that is, gradually adding small sustainable habits to your life that you are able to repeat with success until they become automatic.  This could be, 'I will have vegetables with every dinner' OR 'I will do 10 sit ups every morning' OR 'I will walk for 20 minutes after work every day.'....I am sure you get it! 

The trick is to make sure you are clear on your end goal and not to commit to too much too quickly. 3 habits at once is a good start.

The takeout: Creating small daily micro-habits that fit into your day and are aligned with your wellness goals is a positive way to hardwire your brain to make adoption of a healthier lifestyle easier! 

If you're interested in the science of habits formation read  the study. 

Written: July 2025

Connection could keep you younger!

New evidence from the Journal 'Brain, Behaviour and Immunity' emphasises the importance of maintaining both the quality and quantity of social relationships as we age, suggesting a positive association with longevity. 

It can be all too easy in today's world to be disconnected from real human interaction, but this study emphasises the importance of social relationships in mid-life, highlighting that the number of close friends and frequency of contact, alongside higher quality relationships with family members were associated with reduced levels of immunosenescence (immune aging). 

The takeout: Maintaining a variety of social relationships can significantly reduce stress, reducing immune aging in mid-life, so protecting time to connect with others really could keep you younger!

Written: May 2025