Welcome back to the club. Today's edition explores:
Deep Dive: The brain training linked to a lower risk of dementia 20 years later
Pillar Spotlight: Why squeezing your exercise into the weekend still counts
Video of the Week: How sunlight ages your skin, and the one cream that really works
DEEP DIVE
The Brain Training That Lasted 20 Years
Could just a few weeks of brain training help protect against dementia decades later? A study that followed older adults for 20 years suggests that one particular type might make a difference.
The ACTIVE trial involved 2,802 adults aged 65 and over across six US cities. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three brain-training programmes or a control group that received no training.
Each programme focused on a different skill. Memory training taught people techniques for remembering lists and stories, while reasoning training helped them recognise patterns and solve problems. Speed training was different. It involved a computer task where participants had to identify an object in the centre of a screen while spotting another in their peripheral vision. As they improved, the task got faster and more challenging.
The training itself was fairly short: up to ten sessions lasting 60 to 75 minutes, spread over five to six weeks. Those who completed at least eight sessions could then be randomly selected for booster training, with up to four extra sessions around one year and three years later.
To see whether any of this made a difference in the long run, researchers linked 2,021 participants to 20 years of Medicare health records. Among those who received no training, 48.7 percent were diagnosed with dementia.
But one group stood out. Among participants who completed speed training with booster sessions, 39.8 percent received a dementia diagnosis. After accounting for other factors, their risk of being diagnosed was 25 percent lower than in the control group.
Interestingly, the extra sessions appeared to matter. Speed training without boosters showed no clear benefit, while memory and reasoning training, even with boosters, did not significantly reduce dementia risk.
There are some important caveats. The benefit was only seen in people who completed booster training, and the researchers acknowledge that looking at participants in this way can introduce bias. Dementia diagnoses also came from Medicare billing records rather than direct clinical assessments.
Even so, the findings are promising. They suggest that a relatively small amount of the right kind of brain training, repeated over time, might have benefits that last for decades. More research is needed to confirm whether it really can help delay dementia.
The Protocol
Know What Was Tested: Only speed training with boosters was linked to a lower dementia risk. Memory and reasoning training did not show the same result, so not every brain game counts.
Where To Find It: The speed task from the trial is now sold by Posit Science as an exercise called Double Decision, and it is only available in the paid BrainHQ app.
Do The Top-Ups: The benefit only appeared in people who came back for booster sessions about one and three years later. If you try it, plan to return to it rather than stopping after a few weeks.
Keep Up The Basics: Speed training is one tool, not a replacement for habits linked to brain health, like staying active, looking after your blood pressure and protecting your hearing.
PILLAR SPOTLIGHT · MOVEMENT & METABOLISM
The Weekend Warrior Effect
Too busy to exercise during the week? Squeezing it all into the weekend may still pay off.
Researchers pooled health surveys from England and Scotland covering 63,591 adults aged 40 and over, then tracked deaths over time.
Compared with inactive people, weekend warriors, who did the recommended 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous activity in just one or two sessions a week, had a 30 percent lower risk of dying during the study. People who spread the same activity over three or more sessions had a 35 percent lower risk. Weekend warriors also had a 40 percent lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.
Even people who did less than the guidelines, in one or two sessions a week, had a 34 percent lower risk of dying than inactive people.
This was an observational study and people reported their own activity, so it shows a link, not proof. But the message is encouraging: some activity beats none, even if it all happens at the weekend.
VIDEO OF THE WEEK
What The Sun Does To Your Skin
UV light from the sun doesn't feel dangerous, but it quietly damages the DNA in your skin. Filmed partly with a UV camera, this short video shows how sunlight causes wrinkles, age spots and skin cancer, and why some of it even gets through a window. The verdict from the dermatologist is simple: the anti-ageing cream that really works is sunscreen.
That's it for this week.
If speed training appeals to you, try it with the caveats in mind and plan for the top-up sessions. If weekdays are busy, make the weekend your time to move. And after this week's video, keep sunscreen handy for days out in the sun. Small steps, and all of them easy to start.
Take care of yourself,
The Vitality Club
THE SUMMARY
Key takeaways
The ACTIVE trial randomly assigned 2,802 adults aged 65 and over to speed, memory or reasoning training, or no training. A 2026 analysis in Alzheimer's & Dementia: TRCI linked 2,021 of them to 20 years of Medicare records.
With speed training plus boosters, 39.8 percent were diagnosed with dementia, against 48.7 percent with no training, a 25 percent lower adjusted risk.
Speed training without boosters, and memory or reasoning training, showed no clear effect on dementia risk.
Diagnoses came from billing records, and one author owns stock in and consults for Posit Science, which sells the speed training as Double Decision in BrainHQ.
In 63,591 adults in England and Scotland, weekend warriors had a 30 percent lower risk of death than inactive people.
Sources
Coe NB, et al. (2026). Impact of cognitive training on claims-based diagnosed dementia over 20 years: evidence from the ACTIVE study. Alzheimer's & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions.
O'Donovan G, et al. (2017). Association of "weekend warrior" and other leisure time physical activity patterns with risks for all-cause, cardiovascular disease, and cancer mortality. JAMA Internal Medicine.
About the authors
The Vitality Club is written by PhD researchers at Durham University, Marcus W, Camila G and Todd B, who turn new peer-reviewed health and longevity research into practical takeaways. This article is for education only and is not medical advice; talk to a qualified healthcare professional before changing your diet, exercise, supplements or medication.