Can sleep and social support make your brain look eight years younger?

A University of Florida study using MRI and machine learning suggests sleep, optimism, stress control and social support are linked to younger-looking brains, by up to eight years in some participants

Simple lifestyle and mental health habits can slow brain ageing and make the brain appear up to eight years younger, even in people living with chronic pain, a new study has found.

 

The research, conducted by the University of Florida and published in the journal Brain Communications, tracked 128 middle-aged and older adults with or at risk of knee osteoarthritis using MRI scans and machine learning to estimate “brain age”. Researchers found that those with better sleep, lower stress, optimism and strong social support had younger-looking brains and aged more slowly over two years.

 

The study titled More than chronic pain: behavioural and psychosocial protective factors predict lower brain age in adults with/at risk of knee osteoarthritis over two years said everyday lifestyle and psychological habits can measurably slow brain ageing, and people with the most protective habits had brains that appeared up to eight years younger than those with the fewest, despite living with chronic pain.

 

What does “brain age” mean?

Brain age is not about how old you feel. It is a scientific estimate of how old your brain looks based on its structure.

 

In this study, researchers used MRI scans combined with machine learning to calculate each participant’s brain age. They then compared it with their actual chronological age. The difference between the two, called the brain age gap, acts as a snapshot of overall brain health. A “younger” brain age is generally linked to better cognitive resilience and lower risk of neurodegenerative conditions.

Can lifestyle really make your brain look years younger?

According to the study, lifestyle does make a significant difference. It found that participants with the highest number of behavioural and psychosocial protective factors had brains that appeared about eight years younger at the start of the study. Even more compelling, their brains aged more slowly over the following two years.

 

Researchers said in a statement published on the University of Florida’s website that each additional healthy factor added another layer of neurobiological protection. In other words, these habits seem to work together, not in isolation.

Which habits were linked to slower brain ageing?

The study highlighted that the protective factors were not exotic biohacks or expensive therapies; they were everyday, modifiable behaviours and mindsets, including:

• Restorative sleep, not just time in bed but good-quality sleep
• Optimism, or the tendency to view challenges as manageable
• Lower perceived stress, and better coping with daily pressures
• Strong social support, from friends, family or community
• Maintaining a healthy waistline, which reflects lower inflammation
• Avoiding tobacco, protecting the brain from long-term damage

 

As one of the study’s lead authors, Jared Tanner, noted, many of these are within reach. Poor sleep is treatable. Stress perception can be retrained. Optimism can be practised.

What about pain, poverty and social disadvantage?

According to the study, factors such as chronic pain severity, lower income, limited education and neighbourhood deprivation were linked to older-looking brains, especially at the start. But over time, their influence weakened.

 

What stood out more clearly, and more consistently, were the protective habits. When these were taken into account, they appeared to outweigh the biological ageing burden of pain and social risk.

Why does brain age matter for long-term health?

The researchers stressed that older-looking brains are more vulnerable to memory decline, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. The study provided evidence of neurobiological benefit for every additional health-promoting factor, emphasising that lifestyle can be medicine.

 

According to the study, brain ageing could be partly shaped through daily choices. While you cannot erase pain or rewrite your past, how you sleep, cope, connect and care for yourself today might help decide whether your brain grows old faster or stays younger. 

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This content is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice.