These factors, including a commitment to learning and staying physically active, can help prevent cognitive decline
While the study wasn’t able to draw firm conclusions about why the centenarians were able to maintain their cognitive abilities, the results show that participants were either able to resist neurological decline or what they call “cognitively,” meaning they were exposed to the risk factors for cognitive decline but somehow avoided the disease.
The researchers did find some common attributes of the centenarians. Most attained a high level of education. On average, they finished high school and attained some advanced training or college education. More than half lived independently. The majority of participants had good vision and hearing capacities. This is important because when older adults lose their ability to see and hear, they lose social connections and their ability to process information, which in turn can lead to cognitive decline.
And most of the participants had lived relatively physically active lives; more than 75 percent were still able to walk independently at the start of the study. The take-home message: There are no firm conclusions about how to keep a sharp mind, but these centenarians give us some clues about how to maintain cognitive functioning: by staying physically active, attaining a high level of education, and optimizing our abilities to hear and see. Most importantly, they show us that it is possible to avoid neurological aging and maintain a sharp mind later in life.