Purpose and Brain Ageing: What the Research Is Telling Us
If you’re in your 40s, 50s, or 60s and starting to notice that you’re occasionally forgetting things, misplacing things, sometimes having trouble finding words, or worrying about future memory loss, you’re not alone. Although dementia is not a normal part of ageing, age is still the greatest risk factor for dementia (World Health Organisation [WHO], 2025). But what if an increasingly well-supported protective factor for brain health isn’t found in a prescription pad, but in something much more fundamental: your sense of purpose in life?
The 28% Risk Reduction
A 2025 study published in The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry followed over 13,000 individuals aged over 45 years for 8 to 15 years (Howard et al., 2025). Those with a higher sense of life purpose had a 28% lower risk of developing cognitive impairment. In addition, higher sense of purpose in life was associated with a later onset age of cognitive impairment. This protective effect remained significant even after accounting for things such as gender, baseline age, education, symptoms of depression, and the APOE4 gene — a genetic risk factor for dementia.
Enhancing sense of purpose in life is potentially a promising, accessible intervention for cognitive resilience, even in those with inherited genetic risk for dementia (Howard et al., 2025). Yet in comparison to other protective lifestyle factors such as physical activity and smoking cessation, purpose in life receives far less clinical attention. See our library article: Modifiable risk factors for dementia (And what you can do about them).
The Midlife Window: Purpose at 52 Predicts Cognition at 80
In another recent prospective study, participants’ sense of life purpose was measured at age 52 and tracked for up to 28 years (Sutin et al., 2025). Individuals with the greatest sense of purpose — particularly between the ages of 63 and 70 — were less likely to have dementia at age 80 and demonstrated better global cognitive functioning and verbal fluency at that age too. Those who developed dementia by age 80 had shown a greater decline in purpose between ages 52 and 70 (Sutin et al., 2025).
This indicates that midlife — often a chapter of major life transitions, including children leaving home, ageing parents requiring support, parental loss, unexpected retrenchment or retirement, or challenging health events — is an important window for intervention. The sense of purpose you cultivate from your 50s onward may protect your brain for decades to come.
How Does Purpose Protect the Brain?
The mechanism appears to be behavioural. A 2024 study found that a stronger sense of life purpose independently predicted more frequent engagement in cognitively stimulating activities, such as reading, doing puzzles, participating in group activities, and maintaining social connections, even after adjusting for age, income, and retirement status (Lewis et al., 2024).
In other words, purpose appeared to drive the behaviours that build cognitive reserve. Cognitive reserve refers to the brain’s ability to continue functioning well for longer despite age-related change or conditions such as dementia. As a result, individuals with greater cognitive reserve may tolerate more brain changes before showing symptoms of cognitive decline.
Purpose appears to motivate people to remain engaged, curious, and socially connected; behaviours that are central to long-term brain health.
The Bidirectional Relationship: A Cycle to Disrupt
Here’s where the research becomes particularly important for clinical practice. The relationship between cognitive decline and purpose appears to be bidirectional (Boyle et al., 2010; Howard et al., 2025).
On one hand, cognitive decline is associated with declining sense of purpose. As memory, executive function, or language abilities begin to deteriorate, people may start withdrawing from activities, lose confidence, and struggle to maintain the connections and pursuits that once gave their lives meaning.
But the reverse is also true: declining purpose may accelerate cognitive decline. Losing your sense of purpose in life, especially as you age, may itself become a risk factor for dementia.
This creates a cycle that, if recognised early, may offer an opportunity for timely intervention focused on exploring purpose and potentially supporting long-term brain health (Kim et al., 2022). So, if you’re experiencing difficult life transitions right now, that have left you questioning your roles and sense of purpose in life, existential distress isn’t just emotional. The evidence indicates it may be one of several modifiable factors associated with healthy ageing (Kim et al., 2020, 2022).
What Does Purpose Look Like?
In a recent study from South Australia, individuals aged 68–96 were found to experience life purpose in four domains of life (Irving, 2025):
1. Meaningful relationships: Sharing wisdom with younger generations, caring for pets and family, and mentoring others
2. Contribution: Engaging in meaningful work whether voluntary or paid, advocacy roles, and helping others
3. Learning and growth: Maintaining a sense of mastery through meaningful hobbies, staying curious, and developing new skills
4. Values alignment: Spiritual or religious practices, acts of kindness, and supporting meaningful causes
Older adults who intentionally cultivate a sense of purpose — who have something that draws them forward each day and “get up and get on” — often show a noticeable vitality (Irving, 2025). They are more likely to stay engaged in valued roles, contribute beyond themselves, structure their days around chosen routines, and protect their independence. Many also describe spirituality, faith, or a personal calling as an anchoring force in their lives (Irving, 2025).
Ikigai as One Pathway to Purpose
The Japanese concept of Ikigai, meaning “reason for being,” integrates four dimensions — what we love, what we are good at, what the world needs, and what we can be paid for — into a unified sense of meaningful living. This framework is particularly valuable after significant loss, when the scaffolding of daily purpose can collapse. A longitudinal study of almost 8,000 older Japanese adults aged over 65 found that those who reported having ikigai were 36% less likely to develop dementia and 31% less likely to develop functional disability over a three-year follow-up, compared to those without a sense of Ikigai (Okuzono et al., 2022). Having Ikigai was associated with lower depressive symptoms and sense of hopelessness, better management of everyday life skills supporting independent living at home, enhanced social outcomes (e.g., more frequent participation in hobby clubs and sharing of skills and experiences), and higher subjective wellbeing including happiness and life satisfaction (Okuzono et al., 2022).
There was also evidence of bidirectionality. Ikigai was associated with decreased depressive symptoms; conversely, lower depressive symptoms at baseline were associated with a greater likelihood of having ikigai later. Decreases in psychological distress and improvements in physical health and subjective wellbeing were found to be strongest in men (Okuzono et al., 2022). This may be due to embedded patriarchal values in Japanese society which leave men feeling more rewarded by social participation and Ikigai than women in Japan (Okuzono et al., 2022). In this light, working through the four dimensions of ikigai after loss is not merely a therapeutic exercise, it may be a meaningful act of rebuilding.
Explore Your Next Chapter
Purpose in life is more than a feel-good concept. It is increasingly recognised in the research literature as one of the most accessible and evidence-based factors associated with healthy ageing — and one that appears particularly important to cultivate in midlife.
If you’re ready to begin, have a look at our options for tailormade online psychological therapy and our 10-week programs — Rewrite Your Story and Healthy Brain Happy Heart. Book a complimentary 20-minute consultation to explore whether we might be a good fit for you.
References & reading
Boyle, P. A., Buchman, A. S., Barnes, L. L., & Bennett, D. A. (2010). Effect of a purpose in life on risk of incident Alzheimer disease and mild cognitive impairment in community-dwelling older persons. Archives of General Psychiatry, 67(3), 304–310. https://doi.org/10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2009.208
Howard, N. C., Gerasimov, E. S., Wingo, T. S., & Wingo, A. P. (2025). Life purpose lowers risk for cognitive impairment in a United States population-based cohort. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 33(10), 1021–1032. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jagp.2025.05.009
Irving, J. (2025). "Just get up and get on." Purpose in later life. Activities, Adaptation & Aging, 49(1), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/01924788.2024.2370054
Kim, E. S., Chen, Y., Nakamura, J. S., Ryff, C. D., & VanderWeele, T. J. (2022). Sense of purpose in life and subsequent physical, behavioral, and psychosocial health: An outcome-wide approach. American Journal of Health Promotion, 36(1), 137–147. https://doi.org/10.1177/08901171211038545
Lewis, N. A., Hill, K., Pfund, G. N., Rule, P., Allemand, M., & Hill, P. L. (2024). Sense of purpose in life predicts higher engagement in cognitively stimulating activities. Innovation in Aging, 8(S1). https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igae052
Okuzono, S. S., Shiba, K., Kim, E. S., Shirai, K., Kondo, N., Fujiwara, T., Kondo, K., Lomas, T., Trudel-Fitzgerald, C., Kawachi, I., & VanderWeele, T. J. (2022). Ikigai and subsequent health and wellbeing among Japanese older adults: Longitudinal outcome-wide analysis. The Lancet Regional Health — Western Pacific, 21, Article 100391. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanwpc.2022.100391
Pfund, G. N., Strecher, V., Kross, E., & Hill, P. L. (2023). Sense of purpose and strategies for coping with anxiety across adulthood. GeroPsych, 37(2), 71–79. https://doi.org/10.1024/1662-9647/a000324
Salces-Cubero, I. M., Ramírez-Fernández, E., & Ortega-Martínez, A. R. (2025). The differential effect of training in humor, forgiveness, savoring, and meaning and purpose on the well-being of older adults. Journal of Happiness Studies, 26, 122. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-024-00839-0
Sutin, A. R., Luchetti, M., Stephan, Y., & Terracciano, A. (2024). Purpose in life and cognitive function: Evidence for momentary associations in daily life. Innovation in Aging, 8(3). https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igae019
Sutin, A. R., Luchetti, M., Stephan, Y., & Terracciano, A. (2025). Purpose in life and cognitive health: A 28-year prospective study. International Psychogeriatrics, 36(10), 956-964. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1041610224000383
World Health Organisation (2025, March 31). Dementia. (Fact Sheet).
