Longevity Experts Say That Mastering This One Skill Could Add Years to Your Life

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25-06-2025

A new study found that among four cognitive abilities tested in older adults, verbal fluency (the ability to use language quickly and effectively) was significantly associated with a longer life span.
Experts believe verbal fluency may serve as a proxy for biological resilience, as it relies on multiple brain functions—including memory, attention, processing speed, and executive functioning—all working in sync.
Improving verbal fluency is possible at any age with regular challenges like naming games, deep conversations, strategic board games, storytelling, and even learning a new language—all of which stimulate brain function and support healthy aging.When it comes to aging, research has shown that intelligence can predict your longevity. But intelligence is a vague concept, and it doesn't give us much of an idea of what we can do to exercise our brains. However, a new study published in the journal Psychological Science has pinpointed a more specific trait in people who live longer: verbal fluency.
The researchers gave participants—aged 70 to 105—tests measuring four cognitive abilities: verbal fluency (mastery of language), perceptual speed (the ability to access patterns quickly), verbal knowledge (vocabulary), and episodic memory (ability to recall and remember personal experiences). They also developed a model that assessed their risk of death. After analyzing the data, researchers determined that out of the four cognitive abilities they tested, verbal fluency alone appeared to have a significant link to longevity—but they're not sure why.
Although the link between verbal fluency and longevity is not yet understood, Paolo Ghisletta, PhD, lead author of the study, has two possible theories. The first is that the physical body is inextricably linked to mental, emotional, and cognitive processes. 'All of these domains are just declining together, whether it's cognition, personality, emotions, or biological, medical decline in general,' he said in a statement. In addition to that, Ghisletta recognizes that verbal fluency could be a good measure of well-being, because it's a complex process involving multiple cognitive abilities, potentially including long-term memory, vocabulary, efficiency, and visual memory.
Dr. Kimberly Idoko, neurologist and medical director at Everwell Neuro, agrees, noting that verbal fluency utilizes multiple brain functions, like memory, attention, processing speed, and the ability to organize and express ideas quickly. It also depends on strong connections between different parts of the brain—especially the frontal and temporal lobes. 'When someone can find and use words with ease, it suggests that the brain's regions are connecting well,' Idoko says. 'And when fluency starts to decline, it often suggests broader issues in brain function. So, strong verbal fluency may reflect biological resilience.'
Let's break it down a bit more. 'In order to express a word, you come up with an idea or a thought,' says Polina Shkadron, neurodivergent therapist and founder of Play to Learn Consulting. 'Then, to communicate that thought to someone else, you pull from your language resources to choose specific words in a particular order so that the listener is able to also comprehend what you are describing.' Essentially, you are using language to implant your idea into someone else's mind. 'As the speaker, you also have a feedback loop, meaning that once you express your idea, you are analyzing it simultaneously to make sure that the words are exactly what you wanted in that moment and in that context,' she explains.
While having extensive knowledge of vocabulary is part of communicative interactions, it's not the only part. 'You also need to have knowledge of how language is formed and used,' Shkadron says. 'Language use, referred to as pragmatics, is the way in which we facilitate conversational interactions. We use specific terms depending on the situation and the people in that environment.'
Verbal fluency is also determined by executive functioning capacities—especially verbal working memory—as well as impulse inhibition and cognitive flexibility, Shkadron notes. 'For instance, to have an extensive conversation with someone else, your brain needs the skills to hold onto specific information, process what the other person is telling you—without interrupting them—determine whether that information is relevant or irrelevant, and keep the conversation going based on the topic being discussed,' she explains.
Related: Clear Brain Fog Instantly With These 12 Effective Strategies
The good news is that you can start improving your verbal fluency today, and keep it up over the years. 'The most important ingredients are challenge, variety, and frequency,' Idoko says. To get you started, here are some suggestions from Idoko and Shkadron.
Set a timer for one minute or 90 seconds, and pick a category—like animals, foods you'd find in a grocery store, or items you'd find outdoors in nature, things that start with the letter 'S'—and name as many as you can before the timer goes off. You can challenge yourself or others and make a game out of it. The person who named the highest number of things in the category wins. (It's also a perfect game for a road trip.) According to Idoko, this activity 'activate[s] the same circuits I test in clinical exams.'
Both Idoko and Shkadron mentioned that staying verbally active through having conversations with others is a great way to stay social and keep up with your language skills. More specifically, Shkadron recommends conversations that are about individual interests. 'People who stay verbally active through conversation, reading, or teaching tend to live longer and maintain better cognitive function,' Idoko says. 'So verbal fluency may reflect how much someone is using their brain to stay connected.'
According to Shkadron, strategic board games that require you to use all aspects of executive functioning are beneficial. She suggests Blokus, Ticket to Ride, Settlers of Catan, Rummikub, The Oregon Trail, and Bananagrams. 'The cognitive shifting and strategy that occurs involves language planning and deliberating your moves, as well as the moves of your opponents,' she explains.
Related: Do Brain Games Really Work to Boost Cognitive Fitness?
This ancient oral tradition is also a great way to flex your language skills, Idoko says. '[Storytelling] artistically uses language to develop all of the critical components involved in the communication process,' say the authors of a 2001 study on literacy techniques and storytelling. 'Storytelling develops listening skills, enhances verbal expression, increases comprehension, creates mental images, and highlights verbal reasoning.' Consider trying your hand at creative writing or journaling to get started—you don't have to be an expert to reap the benefits of storytelling.
Do you regret not taking Spanish in high school? Have you always wanted to learn Japanese? Well, there's no time like the present, regardless of your age. A 2012 study found that learning a new language is associated with the growth of the hippocampus—an area of that brain that's involved with handling memories, learning, and dealing with emotion. This is important because the hippocampus is among the first parts of the brain affected by memory loss.
Read the original article on Real Simple