Lifelong cognitive enrichment - an environment that forces a person from childhood to read, think, formulate ideas and absorb new information - is associated with a significantly lower risk of Alzheimer's disease[3]. Research has shown that higher lifetime cognitive enrichment scores were associated with a 38% lower risk of Alzheimer's disease and a 36% lower risk of mild cognitive impairment[3]. The study assessed three life stages – childhood, adolescence and adulthood – and looked at factors such as reading, book ownership and foreign language learning[3]. Research confirms that maintaining mental activity throughout life can reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease by almost 40 percent[3]. A meta-analysis of 22 studies showed that people with higher education, more cognitively demanding jobs and involvement in complex cognitive activities have a 46% lower risk of dementia[1]. Lifelong learning acts as a protection against cognitive decline because it increases cognitive reserves[4].