A growing body of research suggests improvisation is one of the richest cognitive workouts available. 

There’s a rule in improvisational theater that every performer knows by heart: when your scene partner throws something at you, you don’t block it. You accept it, build on it, and keep moving. “Yes, and.” It’s a simple idea that turns out to be a surprisingly powerful workout for your brain.

A growing body of research suggests that improvisation, in theater, music, conversation, even daily decision-making, is one of the richest forms of cognitive activity available. And unlike crossword puzzles or brain-training apps, it asks something different of you: not retrieval, but responsiveness. Not memory alone, but the kind of flexible, in-the-moment thinking that keeps your mind genuinely sharp by building cognitive reserve[kog-ni-tiv ri-zurv]nounThe brain’s resilience to aging and damage through learning and mental stimulation.Learn MoreClose. 

The Cognitive Case for Improv

Cognitive reserve is your brain‘s backup system, the accumulated resilience[ri-zil-yuhns]nounThe ability to recover quickly from stress or setbacks.Learn MoreClose your mind builds over a lifetime of learning, social connection, and mentally demanding activity. And, a new study released this month in Alzheimer’s & Dementia says it can serve as a buffer between age-related brain changes and cognitive decline. While the study didn’t examine improv specifically, it supports the broader cognitive reserve framework that helps explain why activities like improv could matter.

“Think of cognitive reserve as your brain’s savings account,” says Dr. Majid Fotuhi, MD, PhD, a neurologist and USA Today bestselling author of The Invincible Brain: The Clinically Proven Plan to Age-Proof Your Brain and Stay Sharp for Life. “Two people can have the same amount of Alzheimer’s damage in their brain, yet one stays sharp while the other struggles — because one has more reserve built up.”

Dr. Fotuhi says we can build cognitive reserve throughout our lives through “education, mentally engaging work, staying socially connected, and keeping the body active.” Neurologists can measure it through questionnaires that ask about your lifetime of learning and mental activity, he adds. “The good news is it is never too late to start making deposits,” Dr. Fotuhi notes. 

What the Research Tells Us

Several small, proof-of-concept studies suggest that improv is well-suited for building cognitive reserve. In one example, a 2025 study published in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience engaged 13 neuropsychologists and trainees in 15 improv exercises and asked them to rate how heavily each one drew on specific cognitive abilities.

They determined that 11 of the 15 exercises placed high demand on sustained attention — one of the first cognitive abilities to decline with age. Processing speed, another early casualty of aging, was the second most heavily engaged. 

But what made improv stand out wasn’t just that it worked the brain hard — it’s that it worked multiple areas simultaneously. Depending on the exercise, participants drew on working memory, expressive language, mental flexibility, and immediate recall, all at once and in real time. The researchers noted that the exercises covered a wide range of cognitive abilities, making improv far richer than most targeted brain-training programs, which tend to isolate one skill at a time.

A second study conducted on jazz musicians used sophisticated neuroimaging methods to deepen this picture. The researchers found that those performing with the highest level of improvisational freedom had a higher occurrence of a brain state that included the default mode — a system of connected brain areas that become activated when the brain is at rest or daydreaming. It also activated their executive control and language networks, involved in planning complex behaviors, decision-making, and motor control. In other words, this second study confirms that free improvisation doesn’t just activate one brain region — it orchestrates an unusually rich, multi-network symphony. 

The “Think On Your Feet” Factor

What separates improv from other cognitive activities is its relationship with uncertainty. You can’t prepare for what comes next. You can only respond. And you need to act quickly.

Stepping onto a stage with no idea what will unfold, performers must imagine a situation, embody a character, listen attentively to their partners, and construct a shared narrative — all in real time. In doing so, you activate your prefrontal cortex as you process the input, engage your working memory, switch on your attention system, and map your motor actions in response. 

“When you follow a script, your brain is mostly retrieving and executing. When you improvise, it has to create something new on the spot — without a safety net,” explains Dr. Fotuhi. “That activates a whole different set of brain networks, including the ones responsible for quick thinking, flexibility, and creative problem-solving. These are precisely the networks that tend to weaken as we age.”

This matters because cognitive flexibility — the ability to shift gears, adapt to the unexpected, and hold multiple things in mind at once — is precisely what tends to erode with age. Improv trains the brain to stay agile in exactly the kinds of messy, unpredictable situations that real life keeps throwing at us.

“Scripted theater is a rehearsal. Improv is a workout,” Dr. Fotuhi says. 

Social and Emotional Bonuses

There’s another dimension to improv that brain-training apps simply can’t replicate: other people. Improv exercises are largely conducted in supportive group settings, which means every session doubles as a social experience. At a time when loneliness has been identified as a genuine public health crisis, that matters enormously for brain health. 

One study found that improv promotes divergent thinking, uncertainty tolerance, and emotional well-being, while another found it protects against depression and anxiety through its social dimension. According to Dr. Fotuhi, these mental health benefits are deeply connected to cognitive reserve. 

“Depression and chronic anxiety are not just emotional problems — they physically damage the brain over time, particularly the hippocampus, which is your primary memory center,” he tells Super Age. “When improv reduces anxiety and builds self-confidence, it is also reducing the stress hormones that erode brain tissue. Better mood creates better brain chemistry, which creates better conditions for building reserve. These effects do not run on separate tracks. They amplify each other.”

Dr. Fotuhi, also a professor at the Johns Hopkins Mind/Brain Institute, believes the social aspect may be the most important angle that hasn’t yet been fully explored. “Loneliness is now considered a dementia risk factor as serious as high blood pressure or physical inactivity,” he tells Super Age. “If future research can show that improv specifically strengthens social connection and reduces isolation, that could open a genuinely new door in dementia prevention. I hope someone pursues it.”

Take Your Improv Off-Stage

You don’t need to sign up for a comedy class to get the benefits. The same cognitive demands show up in other forms of improvisation: think a seasoned professional navigating an unexpected meeting curveball or a grandparent making up a story on the spot for their grandchild.

And importantly, no endeavor is too small to make an impact, Dr. Fotuhi suggests. What matters is that you listen, adapt, respond, and keep going.

“Try cooking without a recipe. Take a new route to work. When a colleague shares an idea, build on it before you evaluate it. Strike up a conversation with a stranger. Play music freely for a few minutes before practicing structured pieces,” the neurologist says. “The key is to catch yourself reaching for the automatic, familiar response — and deliberately choose a new one instead. Even small moments of spontaneity, practiced daily, train the brain to stay flexible.”

Try This: The One-Day Improv Experiment

You don’t need a comedy class to train your brain like an improviser. The same cognitive demands show up anywhere you swap an automatic response for a new one:  sustained attention, processing speed, mental flexibility. Think a seasoned professional navigating an unexpected meeting curveball or a grandparent making up a story on the spot for their grandchild. What matters is that you listen, adapt, respond, and keep going.

Johns Hopkins-trained neurologist Dr. Fotuhi suggests starting with five small swaps you can practice today:

• Cook a meal without a recipe
• Take a route home you’ve never taken before
• When a colleague shares an idea, build on it before you evaluate it
• Strike up a conversation with a stranger in line
• Play music freely for two minutes before practicing anything structured

Pick three. Do them today. You might feel a little silly. Improv is silly. Your brain will still thank you for it.  

When asked what he’d tell a healthy 65-year-old considering an improv class, Dr. Fotuhi doesn’t hesitate: “An improv class gives you novelty, laughter, social connection, and real-time mental challenge, all at once. Each of those is independently good for your brain. Together, they are exceptional. In my 40 years of practice, I have never told a patient they laughed too much or made too many new friends,” Dr. Fotuhi notes. “Even at 65 with a healthy brain, you have enormous potential to grow. Go sign up,” the neurologist urges. 

Read This Next