Use It Or Lose It
Published February 6, 2026
Demographic aging is often assumed to impose unavoidable declines in cognitive capacity, productivity, and innovation. The evidence shows otherwise: cognitive skills typically increase into midlife and remain stable when individuals regularly engage in math, reading, and problem-solving. Declines emerge primarily among those who do not use these skills, irrespective of formal education or professional status. These findings highlight the economic imperative of early skill formation and sustained cognitive engagement across the lifespan to support growth, adaptability, and long-run prosperity.
Learn more:
- Read "Use It or Lose It! How Age Affects Cognitive Skills" by Eric Hanushek here.
- Listen to "America's Class Struggle", a podcast with Eric Hanushek here.
- Read "Learning Loss: Time to Stop Blaming COVID" by Eric Hanushek here.
Visit Eric Hanushek's profile here.
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The opinions expressed in this video are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Hoover Institution or Stanford University.
© 2026 by the Board of Trustees of Leland Stanford Junior University.
The aging of the population in the United States and other advanced economies leads to concerns about natural losses in the cognitive capacity of the workforce, leading to lower productivity and less innovation. More skilled people earn more because they're both more productive and better able to adapt to changes in the economy, and countries with more skilled populations grow faster. But conventional wisdom says cognitive skills steadily decline after the early thirties and implies that an aging population faces poor economic results. New research shows, however, that cognitive decline is not inevitable. On average, skills tend to grow to the mid-forties. More importantly, people who use math and reading regularly show no decline through at least age 65. Cognitive tasks, either at home or at work, help stave off decline. Even routine tasks like calculating costs or simply reading emails help preserve cognitive ability. But people who do not use cognitive skills regularly do face declines after their early thirties. This holds even for college graduates or professionals who have low skill usage. The economic importance of cognitive skills emphasizes the necessity for the accumulation of skills in school at a young age and of their continued use into adulthood through lifelong learning usage. Not age is the critical driver of skill preservation when it comes to skills and economic strength. One rule holds: use it or lose it.