Early Retirement Leads To Dementia?

Working Later In Life Associated With Reduced Risk Of Memory Loss and Cognitive Decline.

A recent paper published in the journal SSM Population Health looked at 20,000 people aged 55 to 75 years of age looking at age of retirement and risk of cognitive decline.

Alzheimer’s disease and it’s early manifestations like cognitive impairment and memory loss are absolutely devastating health problems that cause so much suffering in the people with the disease and those around them including friends and family.

There is significant evidence that there is not necessarily one cause of Alzheimer’s disease. It has many contributing factors, many of which we can control and some we can not.

Metabolic problems are among those that we can. This includes modification of diet, exercising, and treating underlying metabolic issues like anemia, breathing problems, etc.

‘Exercising’ our brain is another important factor as use improves activity and connectivity of our brain’s connections.

The paper’s summary linked below finds that postponing retirement until 67 slows cognitive decline and is protective against cognitive impairment according to the recent paper. It should be noted that there might be some confounding variables in the paper that resulted in people retiring earlier.

Still, we can probably file the findings in the use it or lose it file.

Our bodies, including our brains, are amazingly adaptable.

In order to function well, we need stress and challenges… for most people work definitely qualifies!

Saving as much of our brain function as possible is something you must focus on today and not wait until so much is lost and there are well established things that help even beyond working.


https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/926690