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  • You've heard of "young at heart," but what about "young at brain"?
  • According to a new study, people who feel younger than their age are more likely to have healthier brains.
  • This could be because some people pay no notice of their age and stay active most of their lives.
  • Other people may be more aware of their ageing brains and resign to the fact they are getting older.
  • This could have an impact on their cognitive abilities.


There's also a lot of false information going around regarding brains. But what is certain is that keeping your brain young and healthy is vital — and certain exercises have been shown to stave off the effects of ageing pretty well.

According to new research, published in the journal Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, there could be another secret to keeping your brain youthful, and it's all to do with your mindset.


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The people who said they felt younger than their age were more likely to get a better score on a memory test. Also, they appeared to consider themselves more healthy, and were less likely to be depressed. It wasn't just down to performance, as those who felt younger also had increased grey matter volume in the inferior frontal gyrus and the superior temporal gyrus —areas associated with language, speech, and sound.


"We found that people who feel younger have the structural characteristics of a younger brain," Chey said in a statement. "Importantly, this difference remains robust even when other possible factors, including personality, subjective health, depressive symptoms, or cognitive functions, are accounted for."


Another possible explanation is people who feel younger engage in more physical and mental activity, and lead a generally more stimulating life, that improves their brain health. Those who feel older may have resigned themselves to their age and stopped being so agile and spritely, which impacts their cognitive abilities.
