COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns aged the brain 5.5 times faster, study finds

The COVID-19 pandemic changed many things in our lives — our routines, our social lives, and even how we think and feel. Now, a new study says the pandemic may have also aged our brains faster, even if we never got infected with the virus.

Researchers found that during the pandemic, the brains of healthy adults showed signs of ageing 5.5 times faster than normal. This happened due to the effects of lockdowns, isolation, and stress — not because of the COVID-19 infection itself. These findings were published in the scientific journal Nature Communications.

The study looked at more than 15,000 people from the UK Biobank, a large health study in the UK. All the participants were healthy, with an average age of 63. Their brain scans showed structural changes that suggested their brains had aged faster during the pandemic.

This is important because most previous research focused on people who had COVID-19. Many of those studies found that the virus could damage the brain and cause memory problems. But this new study shows that just living through the pandemic — with all its stress and lifestyle changes — may have also affected brain health.

What the study found about brain ageing

The researchers studied brain scans taken at two different times: once before the pandemic and once after it started. They found that the changes were strongest in older adults, men, and people from disadvantaged backgrounds. These groups appeared to be more sensitive to the stress and disruptions caused by the pandemic.

According to the researchers, the brains of these people aged about 5.5 months faster than expected. While the difference between men and women was not huge — about 2.5 months — it still showed that men might have been slightly more affected by the stressful environment.

Ali-Reza Mohammadi-Nejad, a neuroimaging expert from the University of Nottingham and one of the study’s authors, said that this proves brain health is not only affected by diseases like COVID-19, but also by our experiences in daily life.

He added that things like isolation, stress, lack of physical activity, and major lifestyle changes might have had a lasting impact on the brain — even for people who never got sick.

What’s interesting is that when researchers gave the participants cognitive tests to check their thinking and memory, only those who had actually been infected with COVID-19 showed reduced mental sharpness. This means that while the brain aged physically, it didn’t necessarily lead to memory loss or confusion in people who weren’t infected.

That said, experts still believe that the structural brain changes matter — especially if they continue or grow worse over time.

Can the brain recover from this pandemic-related ageing?

That’s the big question — and right now, scientists don’t have a clear answer.

Mahdi Moqri, a researcher from Harvard Medical School who studies ageing, said the findings show how strongly our brains can be affected by the environment around us. He also said it’s not yet known if the brain can recover from these changes, because the study only looked at scans from two time points. To know more, long-term studies would be needed.

Still, the research is a reminder that brain health isn’t just about avoiding illness. It’s also about how we live — how active we are, how much we interact with others, and how we manage stress.

The pandemic disrupted all of those things. Many people stayed at home for long periods. Social events stopped. Gyms and parks were closed. And even people who were physically healthy felt worried and anxious for months on end.

According to the researchers, all of these things — social isolation, reduced physical activity, constant stress, and changes in daily routine — may have added up to put extra pressure on the brain.

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Even though the brain ageing didn’t lead to immediate memory loss in everyone, scientists are still concerned about the long-term effects. It’s possible that people who experienced these changes during the pandemic could be more at risk for brain-related problems in the future, especially as they get older.

The takeaway? We need to pay more attention to how big events — even without physical illness — affect our mental and neurological health. Stress, loneliness, and lifestyle disruptions can have real impacts, and we must find ways to protect ourselves from those effects.

Conclusion: Brain health is more than avoiding illness

This study highlights something we often forget: being healthy doesn’t just mean avoiding viruses or diseases. It also means taking care of our minds and bodies during stressful times.

The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us that mental and brain health are deeply connected to our environment and lifestyle. Even without getting sick, just living through those challenging years left a mark on many people’s brains.

As we move forward, it’s important to continue researching how stress, isolation, and big life disruptions affect brain health — and more importantly, how we can recover from them.

Taking care of your brain means staying connected with others, staying physically active, and finding ways to reduce stress. Even small steps, like going for a walk or talking to a friend, can help. Because in the end, your brain needs just as much care as the rest of your body — especially during hard times.