Have you ever wondered about the health benefits of those tiny blue bursts of flavour that you add to your smoothie or to your breakfast cereals? Blueberries are packed with nutrients and antioxidants that offer a range of benefits, particularly to your stomach and guts. Now, a new study has found that it has significant benefits to your intelligence and cognition too. Just Half Cup Of Blueberries Improve CognitionA study published in Nutrients found that participants who ate just half a cup of blueberries a day for 12 weeks experienced improvements in learning, memory, and executive function decision-making, planning, focus, task management, etc.This is particularly noteworthy because executive function governs our ability to stay organized, make informed decisions, and follow through on tasks—skills that often begin to wane with age. The fact that something as simple and accessible as blueberries could influence these areas in just a matter of weeks is pretty incredible.Why? Blueberries are rich in antioxidants and other bioactive compounds (chemicals that promote good health). Specifically, blueberries are packed with anthocyanin, an antioxidant that improves metabolic function, increases cell-level energy production, and decreases inflammation.These compounds are naturally occurring pigments that give blueberries their deep colour, and they do more than just look pretty—they work on a cellular level to reduce oxidative stress, which is one of the factors believed to contribute to age-related cognitive decline.That’s especially important if you’re somewhat overweight. Generally speaking, metabolic disturbance accelerates in middle age and is a prominent risk factor for dementia. Unfortunately, those who are overweight or otherwise insulin-resistant have an elevated risk for future dementia.So, for those trying to take proactive steps against cognitive decline, blueberries offer a simple, natural solution. Not a miracle cure—but an effective supplement to an overall healthy lifestyle. The demonstration of these benefits … suggests that ongoing blueberry supplementation may contribute to protection against cognitive decline when implemented early. Or in non-researcher-speak, half a cup of blueberries a day improved the average participant’s language skills, improved their short-term memory, and enhanced their decision-making, planning, and organizational skills.As an added bonus, participants also experienced lower fasting insulin levels, which means their ability to process carbohydrates efficiently (an important aspect of overall metabolic health) had also improved.Genetics Matter TooSound too good to be true? Granted, blueberries aren’t magic. Genetics also matter. Beyond that, considerable research shows diet, exercise, and a healthy lifestyle make the biggest impact on improving — or at the very least maintaining — the effect of aging on cognition and memory.A healthy diet can reduce age-related cognitive decline and the risk of developing various neurodegenerative diseases. Exercise can slow or even reverse the physical decay of your brain. Research shows exercise can increase the size of your hippocampus even in your 60’s and 70’s, helping to mitigate the impact of age-related memory loss. As for lifestyle, insufficient sleep is associated with accelerated brain atrophy and impaired brain functional connectivity. Alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs directly impact the brain, causing it to age more rapidly, atrophy, and lose functioning ability.So, yeah: If your diet sucks, you never exercise, and you smoke, drink, and don’t get enough sleep, blueberries are just a drop in the learning, memory, and executive function bucket.But they can help.Plus, adding one positive habit to your lifestyle may help you more easily add additional positive habits to your lifestyle. Psychologists call it the spillover effect: the way making one positive choice, no matter how small, inspires you to make other positive choices. The way focusing on improving one thing, no matter how small, will naturally and even effortlessly lead to making improvements in other areas.