Brain Health Score Assessment
Free · nothing saved · calculated in your browser
Answer the questions to see your score
Updates automatically — 0 of 12 answered
Twelve everyday habits and numbers shape how well your brain ages. Answer 12 quick questions to get your score from 0 to 21 — then learn exactly what to do about it.
Free · nothing saved · calculated in your browser
Blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, and body mass index. These are the "silent" numbers — you can feel completely fine while they quietly damage the small blood vessels that feed the brain. They're also the most improvable, often with the biggest payoff.
Nutrition, alcohol, smoking, physical activity, and sleep. Daily choices that compound over years. No single day matters much; the pattern matters enormously. Small, sustainable adjustments move this category the most.
Stress management, close relationships, and a sense of meaning or purpose. The most overlooked family — and the one people are often surprised to learn affects physical brain health at all.
Nobody scores 21 by white-knuckling every habit at once. The score is designed for gradual, sustainable gains — pick one or two factors, nudge them, and let your score rise month after month. It's a tally you keep, not a test you pass or fail.
Mental engagement builds cognitive reserve — the brain's buffer against decline — so games are genuinely worthwhile. But games mostly make you better at that game, and no puzzle app has been shown to prevent dementia. Play them because they're fun, social, and keep you sharp day-to-day — a complement to the fundamentals, not a shield.
Some slowing is normal; serious decline is not inevitable. A landmark 2024 Lancet Commission concluded up to 45% of dementia cases could theoretically be prevented or delayed by addressing modifiable risk factors — nearly all of which are on this scorecard.
Change helps at every age. The benefit is largest earlier in life, but the research behind this score found meaningfully lower stroke risk in every age group, including people over 60. The brain stays responsive to healthier blood pressure, better sleep, and more movement for as long as you live.
For people who aren't deficient, there's no supplement with convincing evidence for preventing cognitive decline. The things that actually move the needle are unglamorous and free-to-cheap: controlling blood pressure, moving your body, sleeping enough, not smoking. Save your money.
Chronic stress, isolation, and lack of purpose show up in physical brain outcomes. The same score that predicts stroke and dementia also predicted lower risk of late-life depression — your emotional life and neurological health aren't separate systems.
They're largely the same project. What's good for your heart's blood vessels is good for your brain's. That's why blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, exercise, and smoking dominate this score — the brain is an organ fed by blood, and it suffers when the plumbing does.
You don't do all of these. Pick one or two that feel doable this month, build the habit, then come back and pick the next. That's how a score climbs and stays up.
The single highest-impact number here. High blood pressure damages tiny brain vessels silently for years.
Target 150 minutes of moderate activity a week (~22 min/day), or 75 minutes vigorous.
Aim for 7–8 hours. Sleep is when the brain clears metabolic waste, including proteins tied to dementia.
No perfect diet required — shift the balance. The Mediterranean and MIND diets are best-studied for the brain.
Smoking is one of the largest modifiable brain risks; quitting over a year ago earns full points here.
The "soft" factors with hard effects. Managed stress, close confidants, and a sense of meaning all count.
This tool adapts the McCance Brain Care Score, developed and validated by the McCance Center for Brain Health at Massachusetts General Hospital. In large population studies, a 5-point-higher score was linked to: