Authors: Tyler Phillips (Research Psychologist & Research and Content Consultant) and Dr Etienne van der Walt (Neurologist and CEO & founder of Neurozone®)
As we grow older, many of us start to think more seriously about our health—especially brain health. Some changes are normal: our brains naturally lose a little bit of white and gray matter, and mental processing may slow down. But in some people, this decline is steeper, sometimes leading to degenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s disease. The big question is: what helps us protect our brains as we age? One surprising answer emerging from research is purpose in life.
Why Purpose Matters
In the study we’re exploring, “purpose in life” means three things:
Scientists have found that people with a stronger sense of purpose don’t just feel better emotionally—they also show better physical and cognitive health. For example, these benefits include:
Researchers think this link may come from the way a sense of purpose nudges people toward healthier choices—like exercising, eating well, sleeping enough, and building strong social connections. Whatever the pathway, these trends suggest that purpose helps protect the brain.
What the Study Found
This study wanted to assess that more directly. They followed 138 adults in the U.S. from 1994 to 2022. By that point, participants were between 48 and 95 years old. They completed a questionnaire on purpose in life and underwent brain scans.
The results were striking: people with a higher sense of purpose also showed healthier brains. Specifically, they had:
Importantly, this finding held regardless of people’s age, sex, education, or race.
The Hippocampus and Healthy Aging
The hippocampus deserves special attention here. It’s one of the few brain regions that can keep making new neurons and forming new connections throughout adulthood. It’s also one of the first regions affected by dementias like Alzheimer’s.
In a previous blog post, we reviewed how keeping mentally engaged and learning—like by speaking different languages—can reduce dementia risk. It likely does that by keeping the hippocampus, a key learning and memory center, engaged. Now we know that the sense of purpose in life is another way to keep the hippocampus strong.
How to Cultivate Purpose
Thankfully, purpose isn’t fixed—you can grow it. Research suggests that purpose is built on three ingredients:
As we age, our actions, and sometimes even our aims and values, may shift. But as long as we are clear on what they are, they can guide our choices and our sense of purpose can remain strong.
A word of caution: what we value matters. Intrinsic, self-transcendent values (like compassion or creativity) tend to support well-being much more than extrinsic, self-focused goals (like money or status).
If you’d like structured help in building purpose, therapies such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), the Healthy Minds Program, or Signature Strengths interventions can all provide useful tools. But they are not the only structured options available to you.
Neurozone®’s Approach
At Neurozone®, we measure a resilience-boosting behavior we call Meaning in Personal Life, which overlaps closely with this idea of purpose. Through our Personal Assessment, you can get practical activities to grow your sense of meaning—or purpose—and track how your resilience improves over time as a result.
Purpose is more than just a feel-good idea. It’s a scientifically backed pathway to protecting your brain, boosting your resilience, and aging with strength and vitality.