Want a younger brain? Stay in school and take the stairs.
Climbing stairs is widely recommended for physical fitness, but new research shows it can benefit the brain as well. The same study also highlights the lasting advantage of education: more years in school and more daily stair climbing both correlate with a brain that appears younger than the person’s chronological age.
Published in the journal Neurobiology of Aging, the study was led by Jason Steffener at Concordia University’s PERFORM Centre in Montreal. Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to examine brain structure, the research team analyzed data from 331 healthy adults between 19 and 79 years old. They compared regional gray matter volumes across participants and calculated a physiological estimate of brain age based on those volumes.
The analysis produced two clear associations. First, each additional year of formal education corresponded to a reduction in estimated brain age of about 0.95 years. Second, the researchers found that each extra flight of stairs climbed daily—defined as the stairs between two successive floors—was associated with roughly a 0.58-year reduction in brain age. In other words, both higher education and modest daily physical activity such as stair climbing were linked with larger brain volume than would be expected for a person’s chronological age.
Steffener points out that stair climbing is an accessible form of activity for many older adults. “Unlike some vigorous exercises, taking the stairs is something most people can do as part of daily life,” he notes, adding that workplace and public health “take the stairs” campaigns could be extended to encourage older adults to use stairs as a practical way to support brain health.
Methodologically, the team focused on gray matter because reductions in gray matter volume—resulting from neuronal loss and shrinkage—are a prominent feature of normal aging. The researchers measured regional cortical and subcortical gray matter volumes and used multivariate techniques to identify the pattern of brain volumes that best predicted chronological age. That pattern then served as a physiologic measure of brain age. Comparing this brain-derived age estimate with participants’ actual chronological age allowed the authors to quantify how education and daily physical activity relate to preserved brain structure.
Statistical analysis showed that education and the reported number of daily flights of stairs climbed were the only two self-report measures that significantly predicted a younger brain age. The regional effects of education and stair climbing were largely driven by temporal and subcortical gray matter volumes, suggesting that these brain regions may be especially sensitive to lifestyle factors that support healthy aging.
The study’s findings support the idea that everyday behaviors and lifelong intellectual engagement can contribute to brain resilience. While the research does not establish a direct causal mechanism, it does suggest that modest, routine activities—such as taking the stairs—and higher levels of formal education are associated with structural brain advantages measurable on MRI scans. These associations reinforce public health messages that combine physical activity and cognitive engagement as part of a broader strategy for maintaining brain health across the lifespan.
Funding: The research received support from grants provided by the National Institute on Aging.
Authors and affiliations: The study team included Jason Steffener (Concordia University, PERFORM Centre; Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal), Christian Habeck, Qolamreza Razlighi and Yaakov Stern (Columbia University), Deirdre O’Shea (Columbia University and the University of Florida), and Louis Bherer (Concordia University and Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal).
Source: Cléa Desjardins – Concordia University
Image credit: Image adapted from the Concordia University press release.
Original research: Abstract for “Differences between chronological and brain age are related to education and self-reported physical activity” by Jason Steffener, Christian Habeck, Deirdre O’Shea, Qolamreza Razlighi, Louis Bherer, and Yaakov Stern in Neurobiology of Aging. Published online February 1, 2016. DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2016.01.014
Abstract
Differences between chronological and brain age are related to education and self-reported physical activity
This study examined how education and self-reported physical activity relate to the gap between a physiologically estimated brain age (BA) and chronological age (CA). Regional cortical and subcortical gray matter volumes were measured in 331 healthy adults aged 19–79. Multivariate analysis identified a covariance pattern of brain volumes that best predicted chronological age (R2 = 47%), and individual expression of this pattern was used as the physiological measure of brain age. The difference between chronological age and brain age was associated with education and selected self-reported physical activity measures. Specifically, education and the daily number of flights of stairs climbed were the only two significant predictors of decreased brain age. The estimated effect sizes indicated that brain age decreased by approximately 0.95 years for each additional year of education and by about 0.58 years for each extra daily flight of stairs climbed. The regional effects of education and stair climbing were most pronounced in temporal and subcortical gray matter volumes. These results support the use of regional gray matter volume as a biomarker of healthy brain aging and suggest that higher education and modest daily physical activity are related to larger-than-expected brain volume for age.