About one-third of the American workforce is over the age of 50. With an aging workforce, longevity and healthspan have never been more important than right now. But a gap is emerging between healthspan (the number of years a person remains healthy and free from serious disease) and lifespan (the total number of years a person lives), with more people spending their later years in poor physical or cognitive health.
And here’s another potentially surprising truth: Cognitive health may be one of the most powerful predictors of how long and how well we live.
Yet, cognitive decline often begins decades earlier—even in a person’s 20s and 30s—with subtle changes in focus, decision-making, and mental stamina that directly impact workplace performance. However, most corporate wellness programs barely scratch the surface of brain health, missing one of the most influential factors in both employee productivity and long-term healthcare costs.
When it comes down to it, a proactive cognitive health program goes beyond basic stress management or mindfulness apps. It addresses the biological foundations of brain function, identifying and correcting the underlying imbalances that lead to mental fog, decision fatigue, and eventually, neurodegenerative disease.
Can mental health predict longevity?
Longevity goes beyond simply living longer. It involves maintaining independence, cognitive capacity, and quality of life, even in those later years. Often referred to as “healthspan, this depends heavily on preserving brain function as we age. Studies further emphasize that individuals with serious mental illnesses have a reduced life expectancy.
Research also shows that individuals with better cognitive function in midlife have significantly lower risks of developing dementia, cardiovascular disease, and other age-related conditions. In fact, cognitive resilience—the brain’s ability to maintain function despite age-related changes—can be built and strengthened throughout life. Here’s how.
Neuroinflammation may play a key role in systemic aging
Neuroinflammation can be triggered by a range of factors—including chronic stress, poor sleep, nutrient deficiencies, gut imbalance, infections, and environmental toxins—all of which can silently disrupt brain function and accelerate aging. Yet, chronic brain inflammation doesn’t stay confined to the nervous system.
When the brain’s immune cells become overactive, they release inflammatory molecules that enter circulation and accelerate aging throughout the body. This neuroinflammation contributes to cardiovascular disease, metabolic dysfunction, and immune system decline—all factors that directly impact lifespan.
Cognitive reserve protects against disease
The brain’s ability to build new neural connections—called neuroplasticity—creates “cognitive reserve.” This term refers to the brain’s ability to cope with damage or age-related changes while maintaining healthy function. For instance, individuals with greater cognitive reserve can maintain mental function even when facing age-related brain changes or pathological processes like Alzheimer’s disease.
Yet, building cognitive reserve requires consistent mental stimulation, learning new skills, and maintaining social connections—activities that workplace cognitive health programs can actively promote.
Metabolic health and brain function
Despite weighing only 2% of the body’s overall weight, the brain consumes approximately 20% of the body’s total energy. In turn, metabolic health is an important aspect to consider when assessing and improving overall cognitive and mental function. In other words, fluctuating blood sugar, insulin resistance, and impaired mitochondrial function can all disrupt brain performance and speed up cognitive aging.
When employees struggle with energy crashes, afternoon brain fog, or difficulty concentrating after meals, these symptoms often reflect underlying metabolic dysfunction that affects both immediate productivity and long-term brain health. Thus, addressing these metabolic factors through targeted interventions can simultaneously improve workplace performance and reduce neurodegenerative risk.
What does an effective cognitive health program look like?
An effective cognitive health program focuses on the key biological factors that impact brain function, like inflammation and blood sugar balance. And this all starts with determining each individual’s unique baseline.
Comprehensive cognitive assessment
To progressively improve, we need a baseline to determine each employee’s starting point. This may include basic mental health screenings, as well as exploration of the biological foundations of brain function.
Advanced biomarker testing offers a data-driven way to do this. It reveals inflammatory markers that affect brain health, neurotransmitter metabolites that influence mood and focus, and nutritional factors that could play a part. Hormone assessments examine cortisol patterns, thyroid function, and sex hormone balance—all of which are important for maintaining mental clarity and emotional regulation. From here, it’s easier to determine what each person needs to optimize their mental clarity and longevity to the fullest.
Targeted nutritional interventions
Effective nutritional programs provide personalized guidance tailored to individual test results and metabolic profiles. Like any organ, the brain requires specific nutrients to function optimally. But many employees unknowingly consume diets high in sugar and processed foods that impair cognitive performance.
Depending on test results, interventions may include:
- Optimizing omega-3 fatty acid levels for brain structure and function.
- Ensuring adequate B-vitamin status for neurotransmitter production.
- Addressing magnesium deficiency (which directly impacts stress resilience and sleep quality; more on this below).
Blood sugar stability also becomes particularly important for sustained mental performance. Stable blood sugar levels maintain energy and mood stability, enabling individuals to focus and perform at their optimal cognitive abilities. Testing for insulin and glucose levels, as well as encouraging employees to note how they feel after eating specific foods, can help guide this intervention.
Sleep optimization and stress resilience
Sleep is a non-negotiable for both mental and physical health. During deep sleep stages, the brain clears metabolic waste, consolidates memories, and repairs neural damage accumulated throughout the day. This means that poor sleep quality may impair decision-making, creativity, and emotional regulation—effects that compound over time and increase neurodegenerative risk.
Inevitably, this means that a proactive cognitive health program should address sleep through comprehensive assessment and targeted interventions. This may include measuring biomarkers like cortisol, magnesium, and vitamin D—which are all included in Welle’s comprehensive process.
Additionally, chronic stress can fundamentally rewire the brain, impairing memory formation, decision-making, and emotional regulation. It also has a significant impact on getting a good night’s sleep, which is why measuring cortisol can be a useful insight.
If stress is determined to play a role here, programs that can help these employees may include introducing workshops that focus on activating the parasympathetic nervous system (the rest-and-digest mode) and building stress resilience, or potentially incorporating stress-reduction techniques (like meditation or deep breathing) into the workflow of the day.
Cognitive training and neuroplasticity
The brain maintains its ability to grow and adapt throughout life, but this neuroplasticity requires specific stimulation to remain active. Cognitive health programs should include targeted exercises that challenge various aspects of brain function while promoting the formation of new neural connections.
This might include complex problem-solving tasks, learning new skills that combine physical and cognitive elements, or engaging in activities that require sustained attention and working memory. The key is providing novel challenges that push beyond comfortable routines while building cognitive reserve.
Environmental optimization
The modern work environment often undermines cognitive function through poor lighting, excessive noise, and sedentary conditions. However, these negative factors can be addressed in various ways.
For instance, programs that optimize workplace lighting, encourage strategic outdoor time, and address evening light exposure can improve both sleep quality and daytime mental clarity.
Air quality also affects cognitive performance more than most realize. Even modest improvements in ventilation and reduction of indoor pollutants can measurably enhance focus and decision-making abilities.
The business returns of cognitive investment
The cognitive demands of modern work continue to intensify, making mental clarity and resilience increasingly valuable assets for many businesses. Organizations that recognize cognitive health as a strategic investment position themselves to attract top talent and maintain competitive advantages in an increasingly complex marketplace.
Ultimately, cognitive health programs represent an investment in human potential. By supporting the biological foundations of brain function, organizations help ensure their workforce can continue to think clearly, make sound decisions, and contribute meaningfully for decades to come.
Are you interested in learning more about building cognitive resilience in your organization? Welle’s comprehensive testing and personalized interventions provide the foundation for effective cognitive health programs that deliver measurable results for both employee performance and long-term brain health. While AI technology continues to grow and expand, there’s still a need for brain power. This means that investing in long-term cognitive health isn’t only a smart move but an essential one.
Sources
- AARP. (n.d.). Building a Competitive Future for All: The Business Case for Healthy Longevity. Retrieved June 2, 2025, from https://www.aarpinternational.org/file%20library/future%20of%20work/aarp_bchl_workbook_final.pdf
- Salthouse T. A. (2009). When does age-related cognitive decline begin?. Neurobiology of aging, 30(4), 507–514. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2008.09.023
- Ilyas, A., Chesney, E., & Patel, R. (2017). Improving life expectancy in people with serious mental illness: should we place more emphasis on primary prevention?. The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science, 211(4), 194–197. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.117.203240
- González, H. M., Tarraf, W., Harrison, K., Windham, B. G., Tingle, J., Alonso, A., Griswold, M., Heiss, G., Knopman, D., & Mosley, T. H. (2018). Midlife cardiovascular health and 20-year cognitive decline: Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study results. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association, 14(5), 579–589. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jalz.2017.11.002
- Vance, D. E., Roberson, A. J., McGuinness, T. M., & Fazeli, P. L. (2010). How neuroplasticity and cognitive reserve protect cognitive functioning. Journal of psychosocial nursing and mental health services, 48(4), 23–30. https://doi.org/10.3928/02793695-20100302-01
- Balasubramanian V. (2021). Brain power. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 118(32), e2107022118. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2107022118
- Neuroscience News. (2025, January 8). Deep Sleep Drives Brain’s Waste Clearance, Aiding Cognitive Health. https://neurosciencenews.com/sleep-glympthatic-norepinepherine-28332/
.webp)
.svg)
.svg)