The Age-Well clinical trial examines whether an 18-month meditation-based intervention can improve mental health and well-being in older adults by targeting attentional and emotional aspects of aging. The trial randomly assigns 137 cognitively unimpaired older adults to the meditation program, a foreign language training program matched for structure and duration, or a passive control group. The study measures cognitive, behavioral, biological, neuroimaging, and sleep outcomes to assess the intervention's impact and underlying mechanisms. This is the first long-term nonpharmacological trial to address both emotional and cognitive dimensions of aging with such comprehensive assessments.
Long-term meditation expertise may protect against age-related decline. The Age-Well study compares 30 cognitively healthy older adults (65+) with at least 10,000 hours of mindfulness and compassion meditation to nonmeditator controls, using brain imaging, sleep, and biological measures sensitive to aging and Alzheimer's disease. Results are expected to clarify how meditation expertise affects aging and the mechanisms behind meditation-based interventions, informing future prevention trials for older populations.