Use it or lose it: how to sharpen your brain as you age episode artwork

EPISODE · Mar 13, 2025 · 14 MIN

Use it or lose it: how to sharpen your brain as you age

from Science Weekly · host The Guardian

Many of us believe that cognitive decline is an inevitable part of ageing, but a new study looking at how our skills change with age challenges that idea. Ian Sample talks to Ludger Wößmann, a professor of economics at the University of Munich and one of the study’s authors, to find out how the team delved into the data to come to their conclusions, and what they discovered about how we can all maintain our faculties for as long as possible. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Many of us believe that cognitive decline is an inevitable part of ageing, but a new study looking at how our skills change with age challenges that idea. Ian Sample talks to Ludger Wößmann, a professor of economics at the University of Munich and one of the study’s authors, to find out how the team delved into the data to come to their conclusions, and what they discovered about how we can all maintain our faculties for as long as possible. Help support our independent journalism at <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sciencepod">theguardian.com/sciencepod</a>

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Use it or lose it: how to sharpen your brain as you age

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Many of us believe that cognitive decline is an inevitable part of ageing, but a new study looking at how our skills change with age challenges that idea. Ian Sample talks to Ludger Wößmann, a professor of economics at the University of Munich and...

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