People whose jobs are mentally challenging have less memory decline in old age, a new study finds.
Researchers tested the memories and thinking abilities of 1,066 Scottish people with an average age of 70. They also gathered information on the jobs the subjects had held before retirement and scored them as to the mental complexity required to perform them.
The seniors whose jobs required more complexity – like lawyers, architects, and social workers – scored better on the memory and thinking ability tests than those whose jobs had been simpler, the study in journal Neurology found.
“These results suggest that more stimulating work environments may help people retain their thinking skills, and that this might be observed years after they have retired,” said study author Alan J. Gow of Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland.
There is a debate over whether a more stimulating mental environment may build a person’s “cognitive reserve,” allowing the brain to function better in old age, or whether people with higher thinking skills simply end up in more mentally challenging occupations.
However, this study was adjusted for IQ and education – and job complexity was still found to slow brain aging.
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