A sense of usefulness to others may help protect the aging brain, according to a new Israeli study, with researchers suggesting that feeling needed could matter as much as simply staying active.
The study, by a team of researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Safed Academic College, points to a low-cost, scalable way to support cognitive health in later life by giving older adults roles—as mentors, advisers or community leaders—where their contributions are seen as essential.
“Our research shows that a sense of usefulness and necessity to the environment can constitute an accessible and significant compensatory mechanism. To maintain the brain health of the older population, it is not enough to fill their days with activities, but we must create meaning for them by integrating them into social and interpersonal roles in which they feel their voice is heard and their skills are needed,” said Prof. Ella Kuhn-Schwartz, who heads the master’s program in gerontology at Ben-Gurion University. She co-led the research with Prof. Rabia Khalila, vice president of Safed Academic College.
The team surveyed 476 adults aged 50 and older in Israel, drawing on data from the Survey on Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe. Participants were asked how much they felt they contributed to the wellbeing of family, friends and their broader community, whether through time, money or advice. They then completed cognitive tasks, including recalling lists of words and solving arithmetic problems.
The analysis found a strong link between a sense of worth and cognitive performance, with feelings of usefulness accounting for roughly a third of the variation in test results. Notably, the effect was strongest among people with what researchers call low cognitive reserve — those with less formal education and limited social engagement over their lifetimes. Rather than simply adding a small boost for people who already had advantages, a sense of usefulness appeared to partly offset differences associated with lower cognitive reserve.
