Can Bingo Be the Secret to Healthier Aging?
The research says yes. And, more importantly, my mom does too. Learn why staying social is so important, and how a senior program near you can do more for brain health than you might think.
DAILY LIVING
Cognitive reserve can help buy time.
The more reserve someone has, the more brain changes they may be able to tolerate before symptoms become apparent.⁵ My mother was signing people up for credit cards and remembering obscure produce codes even though the dementia was wreaking havoc in her brain. We didn't know.
Research has even found significant Alzheimer's-related brain changes in people who never showed obvious symptoms.⁷ That's the savings account being spent.
What Happens to Cognitive Reserve When Someone Gets Dementia?
From an official scientific perspective, it's complicated.
From my perspective as a caregiver, it's not. Cash is king — staying social and mentally stimulated can still support cognition and quality of life, even after a dementia diagnosis.
A Cochrane review found that cognitive stimulation produced a small benefit in memory and thinking test scores — roughly equivalent to delaying the cognitive decline typically expected over about six months in people with mild to moderate dementia.⁸ And I can tell you from caregiver experience, every day counts.
Despite the dementia, and thanks to her senior program, my mother has developed new good habits, like proactively working on a puzzle book at home because that's her routine at the program. She also continues to learn new expressions from the staff, and commits new landmarks to memory, along with all the things I do and say to annoy her. She not only remembers, she reminds me.
The brain's cognitive reserve is like a bank that you can fill with an assortment of "currency." Education and cognitively complex jobs are the two big ones. They are also the most studied contributors.⁵ But you can keep filling the "bank" throughout life — think exercise, music, games, puzzles, hobbies and time with other people.⁵,⁶
Why Is Cognitive Reserve Important?
Sources
Florida State University News, "FSU College of Medicine research team connects loneliness with heightened risk of dementia in largest study of its kind" (2024). https://news.fsu.edu/news/health-medicine/2024/10/21/fsu-college-of-medicine-research-team-connects-loneliness-with-heightened-risk-of-dementia-in-largest-study-of-its-kind/
McEwen, Nasca & Gray, "Stress Effects on Neuronal Structure: Hippocampus, Amygdala, and Prefrontal Cortex," Neuropsychopharmacology (2016). https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4677120/
World Health Organization, "New WHO guidelines: up to 45% of dementia risk could be prevented or delayed" (2026). https://www.who.int/news/item/15-07-2026-new-who-guidelines--up-to-45--of-dementia-risk-could-be-prevented-or-delayed
Rush University Medical Center, "Being Social May Delay Dementia Onset by Five Years" (2025). https://www.rush.edu/news/being-social-may-delay-dementia-onset-five-years
Stern, "Cognitive reserve in ageing and Alzheimer's disease," The Lancet Neurology (2012). https://www.thelancet.com/article/S1474-4422(12)70191-6/abstract
Seinfeld et al., "Effects of music learning and piano practice on cognitive function, mood and quality of life in older adults," Frontiers in Psychology (2013). https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00810/full
Gómez-Isla & Frosch, "Lesions without symptoms: understanding resilience to Alzheimer disease neuropathological changes," Nature Reviews Neurology (2022). https://www.nature.com/articles/s41582-022-00642-9
Cochrane, "Can cognitive stimulation benefit people with dementia?" Woods et al. (2023). https://www.cochrane.org/evidence/CD005562_can-cognitive-stimulation-benefit-people-dementia
What don't you do in a senior program is the real question. Bingo aside, my mother has colored, painted, worked on word finders and other puzzles, made Christmas ornaments, harbored crushes, played Secret Santa, made flower arrangements, salsa danced, belly danced, exercised, listened to guest speakers and guest musicians, played trivia, gone on field trips, eaten countless snacks, munched on lunches, attended prom, and showed up in pajamas (on pajama day, of course).
This is by no means an exhaustive list, and it doesn't account for the magic and mayhem that happens when you put people together. Like the way she picked up the expression "no religion, no politics" (a story for another day), how she has taught people words in Arabic, or why she got the nickname "Marilyn Monroe" (she is very proud of that little tidbit, by the way. She makes sure everybody knows…). I love watching her learn and come home giddy, despite her age and despite the dementia.
A good friend shared something her grandmother used to say, and I reflect on it all the time these days. "You're an adult once, and a child twice." And yeah, that tracks too.
The Long and Short of It
Whether your loved one has dementia or not, keeping them socially and mentally engaged can support their brain health and quality of life. It can give you a break, too. Many cities offer free or low-cost senior programs.
When my mom retired from her third career as a Walmart employee extraordinaire at the age of 82, she had no idea what to do with herself. She was bored and very lonely. And as an only child getting my feet wet in a new job and still in the throes of trying to get my own life off the ground, I didn't know what to do with her either. She was still independent — living alone, paying her bills on time, and buying her own bananas. And my mom is a people person, not a volunteer/plant/pet/hobby person. So, I went down the rabbit hole of trying to find local senior programs to keep the extrovert in her happy, and it was time well spent. To this day, even with dementia, going to a local senior program gives her life. Literally.
And the data, well, it tracks. Here's what you need to know.
Loneliness Is a Measurable Risk Factor for Cognitive Decline
Turns out, being lonely is a big, serious deal and something to watch out for in an aging parent. In fact, in the largest study of its kind, researchers at Florida State University College of Medicine found that loneliness is associated with a 31% higher risk of dementia.¹ But wait, there's unfortunately more. Isolation can also be a source of chronic stress, and research suggests prolonged stress can affect areas of the brain involved in learning and memory.² Oy.
On the flip side, the World Health Organization's recently updated dementia risk-reduction guidelines recommend social activities and cognitive stimulation for adults with normal cognition or mild cognitive impairment.³ And a Rush University Medical Center study found that frequent social activity was associated with a 38% lower risk of dementia and a 21% lower risk of mild cognitive impairment.⁴
And this is why I think senior programs are the chef's kiss. My mom would go seven days a week if she could. They efficiently and effectively combine social time with structured activities that keep the brain stimulated — and this is where cognitive reserve comes in.
Cognitive Reserve: A Savings Account, for Your Brain
This is not official science at all, but it's how I make sense of it. Building cognitive reserve is like putting money into savings — a rainy-day dementia fund. Once dementia symptoms start to show, I think of it like living paycheck to paycheck: staying social and cognitively challenged may still help, but now you're putting that "money" to work in the here and now.
Unfortunately, as with all things in life, there are no guarantees that your efforts will pay off. There might be other factors at play. But it's better to try than to not try at all.
So, What Do You Do in a Senior Program?
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From one caregiver to another...
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