Your Brain on Tech

Your Brain on Tech

From Century Lives by Stanford Center on Longevity

May 27, 2026 · 41 min

About this episode

This episode explores how technology can support aging adults and improve brain health through innovative programs and activities.

We’re an aging nation. By 2050, for the first time ever, Americans over age 60 will outnumber those aged 10 to 24. Older adults increasingly prefer aging in place, so the need for technologies that support activities of daily living, mobility, and social connection is growing. In Century Lives: The AgeTech Revolution, we travel to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where we and 150,000 of our closest friends scope out the technologies that claim they will improve our lives as we grow older. We ask: What do we want our final quarter of life to look like? And can the AgeTech industry actually improve the ways we live our longer lives? Over the past 20 years, researchers have shown that certain types of physical and mental exercise can help stave off dementia and other forms of cognitive decline. In this episode, we look at how innovators are turning to tech-based activities to maximize brain health in aging adults. And we visit a retirement community in Maryland that has developed an innovative program called Kinnections, which uses high-tech games to make the process more fun and effective.

Topics covered

  • aging
  • technology
  • brain health
  • AgeTech
  • cognitive decline
  • social connection

Keywords

  • aging in place
  • dementia
  • cognitive decline
  • high-tech games
  • physical exercise
  • mental exercise
  • social connection

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Stanford Center on Longevity

Books & works: Kinnections

Places: Las Vegas, Maryland

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