To stay healthy in your 60s, keep learning in your 40s

The gloomy picture of ageing as a time of loneliness and decline does not apply to everyone. A new study from Lakeside University suggests that the people who stay healthiest and happiest in their sixties are not necessarily the richest or those with the best genes, but those who keep learning new things in middle age.

The researchers followed 3,000 adults for twenty years, starting when they were between 40 and 45. Every five years, participants answered questions about their health, their social life and any courses, hobbies or new skills they had taken up. By the time they reached their sixties, those who had regularly learnt something new were 40 percent less likely to report memory problems and twice as likely to describe themselves as "very satisfied" with their lives.

Interestingly, the type of learning did not seem to matter much. Some participants took language courses, others learnt to play an instrument, and others joined walking clubs where they studied local history. What mattered, according to Professor James Collins, who led the study, was that the activity was challenging and involved other people. "The brain likes to be stretched," he says, "but it also likes company. When people learn together, they build new friendships at the same time."

This social side is critical, the study suggests. People often lose friends in middle age as children leave home, colleagues retire and busy schedules leave little time for meeting people. Learning groups help to fill that gap. Participants who joined classes regularly reported larger social networks in their sixties than those who learnt alone, for example through online videos.

Professor Collins advises people in their forties not to wait until retirement to try something new. "Many people think, 'I'll take up painting when I have time.' But by then, habits are hard to change, and the opportunity to build lasting friendships through learning may be smaller."

The study does have limitations. Most participants lived in cities, where classes are easy to find, and people who choose to learn may already be healthier and more curious than others. Even so, the researchers believe the message is clear: it is never too early to keep learning.