① Some people have said aging is more a slide into forgetfulness than a journey towards wisdom. However, a growing body of research suggests that late-in-life learning is possible. In reality, education does an aging brain good.

② Throughout life, people’s brains constantly renovate themselves. In the late 1960s, British brain scientist Geoffrey Raisman spied growth in damaged brain regions of rats through an electron microscope; their brains were forging new connections. This meant brains may change every time a person learns something new.

③ Of course, that doesn’t mean the brain isn’t affected by the effects of time. Just as height usually declines over the years, so does brain volume: Humans lose about 4 percent every decade starting in their 40s. But that reduction doesn’t necessarily make people think slower; as long as we are alive and functioning, we can alter our brains with new information and experiences.

④ In fact, scientists now suspect accumulating novel experiences, facts, and skills can keep  people’s minds more flexible. New pathways can strengthen our ever-changing mental structure, even as the brain shrinks.

⑤ Conventional fixes like word puzzles and brain-training apps can contribute to mental durability. Even something as simple as taking a different route to the grocery store or going somewhere new on vacation can keep the brain healthy.