October 1, 2024 – Charles Dickens, the famous Nineteenth-century British author, believed that “the best way to lengthen our days is to walk steadily and purposefully.”
Modern science confirms it.
Growing research on the last 2 decades suggests that having meaning in life can reduce the chance of heart problems and extend life. (Admittedly, Dickens only lived to be 58, but to be fair, his life expectancy was longer less than 40 at the moment.)
Further research also links the aim to brain health: It can have a defensive effect all types of dementiafrom vascular dementia to Alzheimer's disease.
“In every study and sample we've looked at, we find that feeling more purposeful is associated with a lower risk of developing dementia,” he said Angelina SutinPhD, cognitive psychologist at Florida State University.
Defining purpose shouldn’t be easy. For Ralph Waldo EmersonIt meant “to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate.” For Sutin, it’s the sensation that one's life is future-oriented and “moving toward a greater goal.”
“There’s a long-term intention behind it,” he said Emily MrozPhD, social behaviorist at Emory University. “A purpose in life is not something you do today, this week, or even this year.”
Your goal doesn't need to be grand either. While curing cancer is actually a noble goal, Sutin said, a purpose in life could be so simple as “gardening because you want to create a beautiful space for your neighborhood.”
While scholars distinguish between “meaning” and purpose – where meaning is a bigger, more comprehensive idea; a perception that one's life has meaning and coherence — Sutin acknowledges that “a normal person on the street doesn't necessarily make these distinctions.” That can complicate research.
But regardless of how scientists frame their survey questions, the connections between meaning, purpose and dementia risk remain strong.
What the research shows
As Sutin and her colleagues analyzed data by over 150,000 Brits, They found that those that found their lives meaningful had a 35% lower risk of dementia – a profit comparable to that of normal people Exercise. A 2022 meta-analysis of studies from 32 countries suggests that meaning and purpose keep our brains sharp: Those who reported these feelings in abundance performed best on tests of memory and verbal fluency – for instance, the List as many animals as possible in 60 seconds. (Such tests can detect warning signs of dementia.) Determination can delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease repeatedly over than 6 yearsother research shows.
In one Study 2024Researchers on the University of Wisconsin-Madison used diffusion MRI — a complicated imaging technique that enables scientists to view very small structures of the brain — to look at the brains of greater than 100 adults ages 48 to 95. They found that folks who lacked a way of purpose had differences of their neurons (brain cells), suggesting that their brains were less healthy than those of individuals with a stronger sense of purpose.
They could suffer a “loss of myelin, which is a kind of insulator around neurons,” said the study's lead writer Ajay Nair, PhD, neuroscientist on the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Such changes are particularly evident within the hippocampus, a seahorse-shaped a part of the brain that’s answerable for learning and memory. These changes “occur at a very, very small level,” Nair said, so the affected person may not realize that something is mistaken.
What got here first: meaning or a healthy brain?
These observational studies could be a big query'The answer to that is causality. Does determination protect the brain from dementia? Or does dementia diminish a way of meaning and purpose?
“I think both have their place,” Mroz said. She believes that determination and dementia create a feedback loop: When your determination is low, your cognitive function can worsen; And as your cognitive function deteriorates, it could actually develop into tougher to seek out meaning.
Several arguments support the concept purpose influences dementia risk, Sutin said.
“Some studies of dementia risk have checked out the aim measured 10 or 20 years before dementia [sets in]” she said. “And the associations are the same.” Cognitive decline is unlikely to affect goal determination long before symptoms appear, Sutin said.
Furthermore, several mechanisms could explain the positive effects of purpose on dementia risk.
Some of these are behavioral. For example, since people with intentions have plans and goals, they may try to stay in shape so that they have the energy to fulfill them. “You want to stay fit and healthy, so you might exercise more,” Nair said. Research shows that feelings of purpose motivate people to achieve them physically lively, eat healthyremain socially connected, Stop smokingand here we go regular medical examinations – all behaviors linked reduce the chance of dementia.
There may be more direct mechanisms at play.
“Determination helps keep the brain active,” Sutin said, “and we know that keeping the brain active and engaged protects against Alzheimer’s or cognitive impairment.”
In one study In the study published this 12 months, she and her colleagues gave smartphones to greater than 300 volunteers. The phones buzzed several times a day, asking users how purposeful they felt and asking them to finish easy cognitive tests. The results showed that in moments when people felt more purposeful, their brains ProceedingsRetrieve information faster.
A strong sense of purpose can also help you deal with stress, which is associated with higher risk dementia And Alzheimer. People with intention are likely to report less stress in everyday life – an effect that has been observed in various populations, particularly in older adults in Brazil to the deep sea Sailors in Poland And African Americans in Chicago. Notable: They report the same number of everyday stressors—workplace arguments, discrimination—but say they feel less stressed by these events than people who are intentionally low.
Purpose can provide some resilience and help you recover more quickly from negative emotions: Some Research suggests that goal-oriented people's physical response to stressors calms down more quickly than less goal-oriented people. On a biological level, the sense of purpose is associated lower levels of chronic inflammation, even years later – an important finding considering that inflammation is another consideration Predictor of dementia.
Find your purpose
The purpose has been linked to many other health benefits: reduced risk of stroke And Parkinson's disease, slower agingand lower risk of fall amongst older adults. Approximately two-thirds of middle-aged and older Americans have no meaning in their lives.
So how do you go about finding meaning?
Some experts suggest an exercise called lifestyle: You reflect on your values and passions as well as your ideal future and assess how well these align with your life. Then create a detailed plan—literally write it down—to achieve specific, meaningful life goals that embody those values. This could include taking care of your grandchildren, raising money for a charity, or improving the community where you live. Other strategies include Mindfulness and cognitive behavioral therapy.
It's important to remember, Sutin said, that meaning in life is very individual: “What is smart for one person may not make sense for one more.” The key is to find a purpose that feels right for you feels.
The best time to start is now: A meaning in life tends to decline with age and drops sharp after a diagnosis of dementia. But even after the Alzheimer's-related brain changes have already begun, a sense of purpose develops can cushion the harmful effects.
When researchers at Rush University Medical Center conducted long-term observations of patients with Alzheimer's disease's—and later performed postmortem autopsies on their brains—they found that those with a greater sense of purpose had more agile minds than patients without purpose. This was true even if they had similar pathological changes in their brain.
Helping patients with dementia find meaning
For Mroz, such data underscores the importance of helping people with dementia find meaning. External factors related to the diagnosis – such as Beliefs that they’re less productive or need to address on a regular basis tasks Harder – often impair the ability to experience purpose and meaning.
But in her research, Mroz has found that patients with mild to moderate dementia “are really motivated to pursue a goal,” she said. “Many of them ended up focusing on others instead of themselves.”
There is one at Emory University, where Mroz works Integrated Memory Care Clinic This provides holistic care and psychological support for individuals with dementia, helping them redefine what they will and can’t do.
Mroz would love to see more such efforts across the country where individuals with dementia could find support to find meaning and purpose. We have to “change the stigma around what dementia is and what people can do in their lives,” she said.
Finding meaning may be particularly useful for middle-aged adults liable to dementia.
“If dementia runs in my family, I have to be extra careful and vigilant and think carefully about it,” Nair said. “If you do this in your 40s and 50s, your chances of living a healthier life are much better.”