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From City Streets to Brain Health: Lessons in Longevity

By Shannon Kasun, Neuroscience Specialist



I live in New York City—the Big Apple, the concrete jungle, the city that never sleeps. Since moving here, I’ve found that last description to be especially true. The streets stay alive with the hum of traffic and the blare of taxi horns at nearly all hours of the day and night. These yellow checkered cabs are quintessentially New York—always on the move, weaving through the hive of activity that defines the city. But beyond symbolizing New York, they may also offer unexpected insights into brain health and aging.


Taxi drivers know the city better than the back of their hand. You hop in, tell them your cross streets, and they rely on their finely tuned internal map to get you there. In a city as busy and unpredictable as New York, they often need to reroute around construction, traffic, or parades. But that’s no problem—they know dozens of ways to get from point A to point B.


This constant spatial exercise may actually protect their brains against age-related decline. In fact, taxi drivers (and ambulance drivers) have the lowest rates of death from dementia out of 443 occupations (Patel et al., 2024). Interestingly, other transportation professions that do not require real-time navigation and spatial problem-solving—such as Uber and Lyft—do not show the same protection. This suggests it is not simply the act of driving that confers the benefit, but the cognitive challenge of continuous spatial mapping and adaptation.


Spatial navigation is a core function of the hippocampus—the brain’s center for memory consolidation. In Alzheimer’s disease, the hippocampus undergoes significant atrophy (shrinkage), which contributes to the memory deficits characteristic of the condition. It is possible that the continual use of the hippocampus by taxi drivers, as they navigate complex routes, helps strengthen the structure and makes it more resilient to age-related and pathological cognitive decline.


This aligns with a common principle of brain health and aging: “use it or lose it.” It reminds us that to keep cognition sharp and the brain resilient, we must continually engage and challenge it. These benefits extend beyond spatial navigation. Activities such as reading, playing board games, or practicing a musical instrument are all associated with a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia. In fact, every one-point increase in a cognitive activity score—which reflects participation in cognitively demanding activities—has been linked to a 7% lower risk of dementia (Verghese et al., 2003).


Social interactions appear to have a similar protective effect. The cognitive effort required to track a conversation, articulate your thoughts, consider another’s perspective, and recognize social cues provides robust stimulation for the brain. Observational studies show that greater social participation in both midlife and later life is associated with a 30–50% lower risk of dementia (Sommerlad et al., 2023).


Here are some ways we suggest you challenge your brain:

  • Read something new — a nonfiction book, article, or essay that stretches your focus and comprehension.

  • Play a strategy game — board games, puzzles, or cards that test memory and problem-solving.

  • Practice or learn an instrument — music engages coordination, memory, and auditory processing.

  • Try dancing — combines movement, rhythm, and spatial navigation for a full-brain workout.

  • Connect socially — conversations and gatherings challenge language, perspective-taking, and emotional processing.


The example of taxi drivers highlights a broader truth about successful aging: keeping the brain active, engaged, and challenged every day is essential for protecting it against the natural pull of aging. Research continues to demonstrate that participation in stimulating hobbies and strong connections with friends and family also confer these benefits. In navigating from point A to point B, taxi drivers offer us a lesson in navigating aging itself—showing that active engagement is key to living better, longer.



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