Although there is a clear link between lifestyle and cognitive health, the dissonance between observational and intervention studies results reveals gaps in the knowledge of how to translate healthy lifestyles into better cognitive health for the population. This letter discusses gaps in interpreting observational studies linking healthy lifestyles and cognitive health in older adults. The main goal is to briefly highlight the necessity of understanding and incorporating intrinsic and extrinsic drivers of engagement in healthy lifestyles before prescribing and implementing individual and multicomponent programs.