We're talking octogenarians (or older) with faculties more like their 50s. Here's what Northwestern cognition researchers found they're doing right.
If it seems a mystery to understand how some people age with their memory intact, while others’ cognitive faculties slip over time, a recently released 25-year study involved adults over age 80 to reveal a prominent brain health influence.
Much previous Alzheimer’s research had focused on clinically evaluated variables like “neurofibrillary tangles,” tau proteins, and the size of various regions of the brain. Now, to perhaps deeper explain what contributes to those issues, at least in part, neuroscientists at Northwestern University evaluated cognitive test results, lifestyle habits, and, for as many as possible later, postmortem brain autopsies to identify key factors that shaped memory in old age. Following 290 participants over a study period of 25 years, the research has pointed to an important lifestyle takeaway.
Lead researcher Tamar Gefen, PhD, explained to us that “Superagers” make up the group whose episodic memory performed at a level typical of adults between ages 56 and 66. This is determined by recall of at least nine out of 15 words on a delayed memory test, a score that aligns with average adults in that younger age span. Performance across all other cognitive domains also had to fall within the normal range for age, making superior memory the standout feature.
Published in the August 2025 issue of Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, the Northwestern scientists’ findings determined that Superagers displayed unique physical markers when compared to average agers. Brain autopsies from 77 participants suggested that differences in cortical thickness, neuronal health, or resistance to Alzheimer’s-related pathology may underlie a greater memory in old age.
Since lifestyle factors such as diet, exercise and smoking habits are often associated with cognitive outcomes, the team then assessed the link between lifestyle, brain biomarkers, and cognitive ability in old age. They found that lifestyle factors alone did not explain Superaging: Some study participants followed textbook health advice, while “others did not eat well, enjoyed smoking and drinking, shunned exercise, suffered stressful life situations, and did not sleep well,” they noted.
One lifestyle factor did stand out across groups, however—social engagement: “The [Superager] group was particularly sociable and relished extracurricular activities. Compared to their cognitively average, same-aged peers, they rated their relationships with others more positively,” the study states, adding that they tended to self-report high levels of extraversion. “The one observation that could be generalized was the gregariousness of the participants.”
This reinforces recent research that had found similar connections: of the lifestyle choices we make, surrounding oneself in good company is among the most powerful in preserving a healthy brain.
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