How lockdown aged brains by two extra years – and how to turn back the clock

“Oh my God, what’s happened to us?” So wondered Lulu Sinclair when, on resuming contact with friends post-pandemic, the conversation that once flowed had become a challenge, riven with forgotten words and interrupted trains of thought. 

Sinclair, who is in her early 60s, understood this decline was not a symptom of a more serious cognitive condition, but “a lockdown thing”, driven by the abrupt end to interacting as we had before. 

A former journalist and psychotherapist, the loss of language she had formerly relied upon in both life and work was “frightening - I am never usually lost for words…  But I lost a lot of words, I lost a lot of thought processes, and it’s in the last six months - maybe less - that I’ve actually been able to string sentences together [again].”

A study published this month shows how many were hit with the same difficulties - and highlighted how long-lasting their impact has been. The cognitive functions of the over-50s declined at twice the rate during the first two years of the pandemic than in 2019, according to the University of Exeter paper in the journal Lancet Healthy Longevity, irrespective of whether they caught the virus or not. Lockdown, then, may have aged the brain by an additional two years. 

“Analysis of cognitive performance showed significant worsening of executive function and working memory trajectory,’ its researchers noted of the study’s 3,000 participants, adding that an “effect [that] was sustained for working memory into the second year of the pandemic, with a continuation of accelerated decline.” 

Those who had already experienced mild memory problems prior to 2020 suffered worst of all.

“The loneliness and isolation associated with pandemic outbreaks have impacted our brains much faster than the ageing process alone,” explains Dorina Cadar, senior lecturer in cognitive epidemiology and dementia at Brighton and Sussex Medical School. 

“Middle-aged UK populations have suffered significant cognitive decline as a result of the previous COVID-19 national lockdowns …Friends and family act as our social support and strength. Blocking that for the general population, even with good intentions, as we have seen, represents real harm.”

While lockdowns’ effects were previously thought to have been most debilitating to children, this disruption to older adults’ cognition was no surprise, says Professor Anne Corbett, the study’s lead researcher. 

“It was an extraordinary time and many of the changes to people’s lives [such as reduced social contact and physical exercise] were likely to drive some change,” she explains.

Longer-term impact

But that these changes continued into the second year - even after shutdowns eased - “suggests there was a longer-term impact that may extend beyond the immediate impact of the lockdowns and restrictions”. Other studies, including a 2021 paper from the University of West Paisley, and another published that year in the journal Scientific Reports, described the “heavy toll” on older adults’ cognitive function.

“Longer-term there is a chance that this accelerated decline could put more people at risk of health concerns like cognitive impairment and dementia,” adds Prof Corbett.

Judy Hall worried that her brain fog might be a sign of the latter. Her mother suffered with dementia, and after Hall was hospitalised with Covid, her struggle to remember and speak as she had previously led her to “fear that it runs in the family”. 

Hall, 64, spent eight weeks recuperating post-hospital, but on returning to work as a teacher in a young offenders’ institution “felt foggy and relied more on lists and notes. If there were any new instructions I panicked because I felt as if I didn’t understand,” she reflects. 

It was a world away from her life two years prior, when she’d completed an MA - and debilitating enough that she would change roles in order to lessen the load, before leaving that after three months, too.

“Covid had a real effect on cognitive ability and that is scary for people like me with dementia history in the family,” Hall says. “I don’t believe the impact of Covid the disease and the lockdown has been properly addressed by healthcare professionals and employers.” 

With little research and advice over both the existence of lockdown brain drain and how best to manage it, many have been left grappling with reduced abilities, and little idea of where to turn. Corbett advises that anyone with concerns about their memory should consult their GP and arrange for an assessment, adding that “it is critical that we monitor brain health in older adults to ensure anyone experiencing cognitive decline is assessed early and supported. It is also important to provide people with the information and tools to manage their own risk of cognitive decline.”

Activities to promote health

Recognising the first signs of cognitive decline can sometimes be challenging, “as this will occur gradually in most people and can vary from person to person,” explains André Aleman, professor of cognitive neuropsychiatry at the University of Groningen and author of the Ageing Brain.  “Increased forgetfulness can be an important sign, especially of recent events, appointments or finding one’s way.” 

While he notes this is not always indicative of a serious condition, he adds that “activities that promote health, such as exercise and a healthy diet are very important. Social activities are also good for brain resilience, they help cope with emotions and stress.” 

While Hall “finds even now I can lose train of thought and find concentration more difficult”, the main thing that has improved her wellbeing has been signing up to a business programme. 

“Study for me was the answer because it is a mental workout, especially when there are modules to complete.” She also reduced her sugar intake to “feel more alert”, kept up writing to sharpen her cognition, and tried restorative yoga. 

For Sinclair, her mode of self-treatment is practice; forcing herself to make calls where she otherwise might not, or driving to meet people regularly. But she has “seen it from both sides” when it comes to cognitive recovery rates for younger and older people, she says. 

At the same time as she was beginning her own journey into lockdown-induced decline, her granddaughter, then two, saw her ability to speak much-diminished, reverting to nursery rhymes that she had by that stage grown out of. While she fully recovered - likely due to the rapid growth of synapses, or brain connections, during this age - Sinclair cannot say the same. “I’m not back to where I was,” she says. “Time speeds up as you age and that’s time that I’ve lost forever.”

Ageing brain? Try these five ways to rewind your mind

Train your brain

Practising thinking, memory and concentration skills can improve cognition by 10 per cent, says Aleman, and “given that the brain’s decline between 65 and 75 is on average 10 per cent, this is substantial”, he adds.

Beware too that while the likes of Sudoku puzzles may help to a point, doing a lot of them may mean “you become extremely good at Sudoku puzzles, but your brain hasn’t necessarily become sharper in other areas”.

 To put your brain to the test, Aleman recommends focusing on trying to retrieve information, rather than store it. Instead of trying to memorise something by reading it 20 times, “it’s more effective to read it three times and then try to recall what you can without consulting the written text”.

If you need to check a few times, put the paper away again “immediately afterwards. This is a more active way of learning that helps you to see a structure in the text, which is what aids memory.”

Pick up a new skill

A study from the Chinese Academy of Science published earlier this year showed that playing a musical instrument helps older adults to preserve “youthful neural patterns as well as recruiting additional compensatory brain regions”. 

Researchers provided “empirical evidence to support that playing music keeps your brain sharp, young, and focused”.

Neurogenesis, or the growth of neurons, is key to learning and memory - but many die within weeks. “The chance that a neuron will survive is linked to learning processes,” says Aleman. “When you learn something new, such as a foreign language or how to play the flute, it is highly likely that some of the new cells will be used for this. New cells make it easier to learn something new.”

Exercise

There are several theories as to why activity improves brain function - including the physiological changes it sparks, such as the production of growth factors (chemicals that affect new blood vessels in the brain, and the health of brain cells). A paper published in Nature last year highlighted that light-intensity exercise, such as walking, was capable of improving episodic memory (remembering prior events and the attached emotions), while those who engaged in higher-intensity activity (running or HIIT, for example) had improved spatial memory (ie remembering where you left your keys).

“Exercise can also boost memory and thinking indirectly by improving mood and sleep, and by reducing stress and anxiety,” Aleman writes in the Ageing Brain, noting that “problems in these areas frequently cause or contribute to cognitive impairment”.

Keep Vitamin B12 and Omega-3 levels topped up

Many studies have linked low levels of Vitamin B12 with reduced brain function in older people. Deficiency is far more common in older people (affecting one in 20 UK adults aged 65-74, and one in 10 over 75), though typically occurs in those who do not eat a varied diet rich in the likes of fish, meat, eggs, and fortified cereals. 

Omega-3 fatty acids, such as those found in the likes of salmon, mackerel and herring, also “have a beneficial effect on the cell wall in neurons, enabling better transport of substances needed by the neuron to function effectively,” Aleman says, pointing to a study in which the average participant age was 78. “Those who regularly ate oily fish performed better in memory and concentration tests and had more grey matter [responsible for processing and releasing new information] in their brains.”

Stay social

Maintaining social connections - from lunches to going to church - not only help strengthen cognitive performance in the longer-term, but more immediately, too. A 2021 paper from the Center for Healthy Ageing at Penn State showed that when adults aged 70-90 reported more frequent, pleasant social interactions, their brain function was enhanced that day, and for the following two days. “The important thing is to take the initiative, not to wait for someone to drop in,” Aleman suggests.

Race Against Dementia is one of four charities supported by this year’s Telegraph Christmas Charity Appeal. The others are, Go Beyond, the RAF Benevolent Fund and Marie Curie. To make a donation, please visit telegraph.co.uk/2023appeal or call 0151 284 1927.