“The brain loves novelty—not to an overwhelming, stressful level, but to a stimulating level. It’s vital to our survival that our brain keeps learning and adapts.”—Dr Nicola Gates, author of A Brain for Life.
Key points
- Mental decline is not a foregone conclusion, and exercising our brain is as important as focusing on our physical health and fitness.
- Stimulating our brain and safeguarding cognitive function helps us to maintain good social connections and relationships with loved ones; improves memory, decision-making, concentration and creativity; and aids confidence and happiness.
- There are countless activities, games, hobbies, courses and pastimes that can encourage mental activity.
As we age, a certain degree of cognitive change – memory problems, a loss of sharpness – is natural. But mental decline is not a foregone conclusion, and exercising our brain is as important as focusing on our physical health and fitness.
We asked clinical neuropsychologist Dr Nicola Gates – author of A Brain for Life – to help explain grey matter in black and white: how the brain changes, why mental activity and stimulation is vital to our health and wellbeing, and what we can do to promote mental activity and safeguard our brain’s health as we get older.
How the brain changes as we age
Our brains are constantly evolving—developing and adapting throughout our entire lives.
While certain areas may shrink and some cognitive functions—like memory, information processing, and recall—can slow with age, it’s important to remember that new neural connections can still be formed later in life. Cognitive decline isn't an unavoidable part of getting older.
Although age is the strongest risk factor for conditions like dementia, and other health issues such as diabetes and heart disease can also impact brain function, staying mentally active as we age plays a vital role in maintaining cognitive health.
In fact, the lifestyle transitions that often come with getting older can reduce mental stimulation just as much as biological ageing. Staying curious and engaged can help keep your mind sharp and resilient.
It’s important to recognise the potential pitfalls of those later-in-life transitions and consciously work to counteract their effects.
“When we get older, our world contracts – particularly when we leave the workforce,” says Nicola.
“People’s world of experiences becomes contracted. They go to the same shops, buy the same groceries, talk to the same friends. It’s not stimulating for the brain. Early retirement can be problematic and increase the risk of dementia because people can neglect mental activity and social engagement.
“The brain loves novelty – not to an overwhelming, stressful level, but to a stimulating level. It’s vital to our survival that our brain keeps learning and adapts. Stimulation increases brain growth and cognitive development. It’s well understood that mental activity, including education and occupational demand, is associated with the decline in dementia.”
Explaining neuroplasticity
At its core, neuroplasticity refers to the brain’s remarkable ability to change and adapt over time.
This capacity allows the brain’s structure and organisation to evolve based on our experiences, thought patterns, habits, and behaviours. Each time we think differently, gain a new experience, or learn a skill, we carve out a new neural pathway. With repetition, that pathway strengthens—much like muscles responding to regular exercise—making those thoughts or actions more automatic and ingrained.
It’s an inspiring reminder that change is always possible, no matter our age or stage in life.
Neuroplasticity also helps explain the process of mental decline if we reduce, or neglect, our mental activity.
“Across the lifespan, the brain has the capacity to learn and acquire new information. New learning inherently involves neuroplastic change,” Nicola elaborates.
“While neuroplasticity can be appropriated with positive changes such as stimulation and learning, lack of activity causes neuroplastic change in the opposite direction. For example, when people go on holiday or long sabbatical leave, they come back to their job and everything is slower and more effortful – that’s an example of neuroplasticity.”
Stimulating your brain for mental health and wellbeing
Staying mentally active isn’t just important for long-term brain health—it’s also a powerful contributor to overall mental wellbeing.
Engaging in stimulating activities can boost memory, concentration, decision-making, and creativity. It also supports strong social connections and a deeper sense of happiness and self-confidence.
Maintaining mental sharpness as we age helps preserve a sense of purpose and capability—qualities that play a key role in how we feel about ourselves and how we navigate the world. On the flip side, a lack of mental activity can sometimes lead to cognitive decline, which may contribute to feelings of stress, anxiety, or depression.
The good news? Mental activity is something we can all invest in—through learning, connection, curiosity, and creativity—at any age.
Nicola also warns that neuroplasticity from positive mental activity and stimulation can’t occur in a vacuum.
“You can engage and exercise your brain, but if you’re not supporting the health of the brain by eating well, reducing stress, sleeping well and keeping physically active, or if you’re having too much alcohol, it’s going to undermine your brain’s health and cognitive capacity,” says Nicola.
Strategies and pursuits to promote mental activity
There are countless activities, games, hobbies, courses and pastimes that can encourage mental activity.
From doing puzzles, Scrabble, sudoku or crosswords to playing cards, using memory-based apps and games, learning an instrument or language, participating in an educational course, volunteering and making art – there’s no rigid path to follow to stimulate your brain as you get older.
The key is to keep it fresh, challenging (but not overly so) and fun.
“It’s about getting the balance right,” says Nicola.
“One of the tricks about mental activity is to not just focus on what you’re really good at – that’s not going to stimulate your brain as much as something you can’t do. Find the comfortable edge of challenge, but not to the point that you’re overwhelmed.
“One client came to me, a nun, and as a result of being given some tasks, she went and got an iPad and an iPhone and completely embraced all the technology of the 21st century, despite having no previous exposure to it.
“It expands people’s worlds. We’ve found that people’s psychological wellbeing also improved through a sense of accomplishment, confidence, autonomy, mastery and all those sorts of wonderful aspects of psychological resilience.”
Engaging in activities that support brain health does more than just sharpen our minds—it also brings joy, connection, and a renewed sense of purpose.
Whether it’s picking up a new language, trying your hand at music or art, or diving into something completely outside your comfort zone, these experiences challenge the brain in ways that spark growth and keep neural pathways thriving. The real magic happens when mental activity feels fun and fulfilling rather than like a task to be checked off.
Enjoyment and curiosity fuel consistency, which is far more valuable than perfection. It’s not about becoming a master—it’s about staying mentally vibrant while genuinely enjoying the ride.
As with physical exercise, several adages apply to mental activity: use it or lose it, better late than never, and something is better than nothing.
Disclaimer: Information provided in this article is of a general nature. Australian Unity accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of any of the opinions, advice, representations or information contained in this publication. Readers should rely on their own advice and enquiries in making decisions affecting their own health, wellbeing or interest. Interviewee names and titles were accurate at the time of writing.
