Paint, take photos, compose music, and your memory will increase – findings from a new study

Just in April 2023, a paper was published in which researchers experimented on how to improve cognition in old age. They took adults in their 60s and 70s and made them learn skills 6 hours a week for 3 months. Actually, three different skills at once. They could choose from Spanish, photography, painting, drawing, music composition, or how to use an iPad.

No doubt the participants got better at these particular skills, but researchers were interested in something else. Did their cognitive abilities (memory, attention, thinking speed, etc.) increase because of this skill learning? Let’s look at what they found.

They found that participants showed significant improvements in their memory, and ability to control their thoughts, behaviour and emotions. The most mind-blowing thing is these cognitive abilities continued to improve gradually, all the way up to one year after their 3-month skill training. There was long-term cognitive growth!

This is unlike anything other studies have found. So this raises a question – “Are these results from this one single paper trustworthy?” Is it true that you need just 3 months of simultaneously learning 3 skills to boost your long-term cognitive improvement? It might be. It’s not really possible to prove or disprove something based on one scientific paper, but it does show us what might be possible.

As the researchers said in their paper: “We demonstrate that learning multiple new skills in older adulthood is not only possible, but also may lead to considerable long-term cognitive growth.” Perhaps it’s time to finally crack your fingers at that piano you’ve been putting away for so long.

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