Jul 13, 2026 · 2h 29m
Cognitive scientists reveal the daily habits that protect aging brains
How to Improve Your Memory & Cognitive Function at Any Age | Dr. Alan Castel
Understanding that memory is malleable and highly responsive to physical and mental habits empowers individuals to actively steer their own cognitive aging trajectory.
- 1Memory is a reconstructive process rather than a perfect recording, making it highly susceptible to post-event distortion.
- 2Embracing the discomfort of learning new skills and making mistakes actively triggers neurogenesis and long-term retention.
- 3The physical habits of superagers, including brisk walking and effortful tasks, directly preserve critical brain structures.
Don't miss
The discussion of the Nun Study, which proved that early-life linguistic ability and physical activity predict cognitive health in old age.
The brief
Memory is not a video recorder; it is a reconstructive process that changes every time we recall the past. UCLA psychologist Alan Castel explains how our brains actively rewrite our personal histories, often superimposing new details onto old experiences.
While rote memorization and mnemonics have limits, deep semantic learning and making mistakes actually improve long-term retention. Embracing the psychological discomfort of novelty and curiosity is what triggers neurogenesis and keeps the aging brain resilient.
The famous Nun Study reveals that early-life linguistic ability and consistent physical exercise, like brisk walking, are powerful predictors of cognitive health, showing that physical movement directly stimulates the cerebellum and preserves mental sharpness.
Successful cognitive aging relies on what Castel calls the ABCs: Attitude, Balance, and Connection. Superagers physically maintain a larger anterior midcingulate cortex by routinely leaning into effortful, challenging tasks rather than retreating from them.
Ultimately, cognitive health is highly subjective. Adults over forty typically feel about twenty percent younger than their chronological age, a positive mental outlook that directly correlates with greater resilience and a longer, healthier lifespan.
What was said on this episode
38 statements · 23 positive · 10 negative · 5 neutral
Making mistakes supports effective learning.
“Good learning happens through making mistakes.”
Listen at 0:00
Errorful retrieval improves subsequent memory.
“The best way to remember something is to again failures.”
Listen at 0:17
Human memory reconstructs the past and is not invariably accurate.
“memory is really a mental representation of the past. And by its very nature it's reconstructive. It's never always accurate.”
Listen at 3:05
Forgetting names is often a normal form of forgetting.
“if you can't remember someone's name, that's probably a natural forgetting.”
Listen at 5:43
Deliberate retrieval practice helps people remember names.
“we have to use deliberate practice, retrieval practice, use the name several times.”
Listen at 6:37
Mistakes contribute substantially to learning.
“a lot of good learning happens through making mistakes.”
Listen at 8:18
Repeated exposure alone does not guarantee strong memory.
“just seeing something many times doesn't mean you'll remember it well.”
Listen at 8:35
Failed retrieval followed by correction improves memory.
“the best way to remember something is to again failures”
Listen at 9:09
Noticing differs from merely seeing information.
“I think, think that's the difference between seeing something and noticing it.”
Listen at 10:27
Persistence and curiosity help learners obtain feedback and improve.
“the best learners are the ones who persist, who are curious, because that's how you're going to get a lot of feedback”
Listen at 14:41
Some memory systems may remain stable or improve with age.
“there are certain memory systems that might actually remain stable or even improve.”
Listen at 16:47
Novel experiences and social interaction may support neurogenesis.
“being exposed to new things, if you're traveling, if you're talking to different people, that can be really important for things like even neurogenesis.”
Listen at 18:27
New brain-cell development does not necessarily stop with aging.
“You want to, you know, develop new brain cells, which we know doesn't just stop as we reach a certain age.”
Listen at 18:34
Changing routines can benefit memory.
“there can be benefits to changing our habits”
Listen at 20:19
Amygdala emotional processing remains relatively maintained across aging.
“a part of our brain, like the amygdala that's involved in processing emotions is very active and is maintained throughout age.”
Listen at 22:00
Learning challenges are more beneficial than making learning completely easy.
“you don't want it to be easy. You want it to be not a struggle, but a challenge so that you can appreciate it.”
Listen at 23:58
Exceptional visual memory does not eliminate memory errors.
“the research on photographic memory does show that even people who have very strong visual memory will make memory errors.”
Listen at 26:28
Deciding to photograph an event can improve memory for it.
“There is some research showing that that act of deciding to take the picture actually improves your own memory for the event.”
Listen at 27:37
Photographing events can worsen memory when it encourages offloading.
“it can also make your memory worse because you're realizing, I'm taking this photo so I don't need to remember it later.”
Listen at 27:46
Reconstructing the past and imagining the future share brain signatures.
“our brain does a lot of interesting things in terms of, you know, reconstructing the past also has a similar brain signature as imagining the future”
Listen at 28:34
Human memory can be contaminated by subsequent information.
“our memory can be contaminated, just like any form of evidence could be contaminated.”
Listen at 31:26
Lineup identification can replace the originally witnessed face in memory.
“when you replay it again, you're replaying the person you identified, not the person you actually saw.”
Listen at 31:31
Confidence is not a reliable guarantee of memory accuracy.
“High confidence doesn't necessarily mean high accuracy.”
Listen at 34:29
Refreshing procedural skills may improve safety.
“I think revisiting these things more often and being more cognizant probably would make us safer.”
Listen at 48:23
Walking three or four times weekly can enhance hippocampal function.
“walking three, four times a week can enhance hippocampal function.”
Listen at 52:16
A year of regular walking increased hippocampal volume by 1%.
“the walking group, their hippocampus, actually increased in volume by 1%.”
Listen at 52:45
Walking participants had better memory one year later.
“Their memory was much better a year later.”
Listen at 52:54
One-quarter of people over 65 experience a fall.
“one in four people over the age of 65 will experience a fall.”
Listen at 54:49
Most people over 40 report feeling approximately 20% younger.
“after the age of 40, most people feel about 20, 20% younger than their actual age.”
Listen at 1:16:42
Subjective age predicts longevity better than biological age.
“that subjective age is a better predictor of how long you'll live than your biological age.”
Listen at 1:17:11
Older adults showed greater psychological resilience during COVID-19.
“older adults were much more resilient than younger adults.”
Listen at 1:28:49
Older adults increasingly focus on positive information and events.
“as you get older, you're more likely to focus on positive things, positive information, positive events.”
Listen at 1:32:39
Spending five weekly hours with grandchildren is associated with better memory.
“people who spend five hours a week with their grandchildren have improved memory.”
Listen at 1:44:00
Over twenty weekly hours with grandchildren may lack or reverse memory benefits.
“those who spend more than 20 hours a week don't show this benefit, in fact might show the opposite.”
Listen at 1:44:09
Older adults preferentially remember curiosity-relevant information and forget uninteresting information.
“older adults tend to remember the things that they're most curious about, but they're also really good at forgetting the things that they just didn't care about in the first place.”
Listen at 2:00:10
Trait curiosity tends to decline with age.
“as you get older, that tends to decline with age”
Listen at 2:09:36
State curiosity about personally relevant information increases with age.
“levels of state curiosity, when I give you some interesting bit of information, but I don't give you the answer if it's something you care about, that actually increases with age”
Listen at 2:09:44
AI voice cloning makes impersonation scams more convincing.
“AI has just made this even worse because you're going to get phone, you could get a phone call from Steve Jobs that sounds just like Steve Jobs right now”
Listen at 2:11:26
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