A Lifestyle Rx For Keeping Your Brain Young

Get your Zzzzzs. 

And build a strong social support system.

New research shows that these factors — all of which are within your control — are powerful anti-aging tools. 

"You can learn how to perceive stress differently," said study co-leader Jared Tanner, a research associate professor of clinical health and psychology at the University of Florida. "Poor sleep is very treatable. Optimism can be practiced."

Using MRI-based estimates of brain age, his team found that people who adhered to healthy lifestyle habits had brains that were up to 8 years younger than expected. And that was true even for folks beset with chronic pain.

The findings — recently published in the journal Brain Communications — add to evidence that taking good care of yourself reaps big-time dividends.

"The message is consistent across our studies, health-promoting behaviors are not only associated with lower pain and better physical functioning, they appear to actually bolster health in an additive fashion at a meaningful level," said senior author Kimberly Sibille, an associate professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation.

For the study, researchers tracked 128 middle-aged and older adults. Most had chronic pain related to or at risk of knee osteoarthritis. 

Over two years, a machine learning model used MRI scans to compare each participant’s estimated "brain age" with their actual, chronological age. 

The difference between the two — the so-called "brain age gap" — offered a measure of whole-brain health.

The takeaway: Hardships like chronic pain, limited education and lower income were associated with brains that appeared older. Researchers noted, however, that those links decreased over time.

On the other hand, maintaining a healthy weight, getting good sleep, managing stress, avoiding tobacco and cultivating supportive relationships were linked to a stronger and more enduring connection to younger-appearing brains.

Folks with the highest number of those beneficial factors began the study with brains that looked eight years younger than they actually were, the study found. 

What’s more, during the two-year follow-up, their brains aged more slowly than others’ did.

The findings add to a growing body of knowledge about brain aging. 

Earlier studies have examined isolated brain areas, but pain, stress and major life events tend to influence widespread brain areas.

For years, experts have known that aging brains are more vulnerable to dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and decline. While the new study centered on people with chronic pain, the authors said that healthy habits are likely to benefit aging in a wide range of folks.

"Literally for every additional healthy promoting factor, there is some evidence of neurobiological benefit," Sibille said. "Our findings support the growing body of evidence that Lifestyle is medicine."

More information

The American Brain Foundation has more about brain aging.

SOURCE: University of Florida, news release, Dec. 15, 2025

What This Means For You

Healthy habits aren't only good for your physical health. They're also a boon for the brain.