By Craig Miller
Putting Off Retirement Might Help Ward Off Dementia
We've all heard someone say it: they've decided to keep working beyond retirement age to "keep their mind sharp." Now, that widely held notion has some science behind it. Three researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Germany have released a study showing measurable differences in cognitive decline between those who bow out of the workforce earlier versus later in life. Some of the differences were stark. "Oh, it's absolutely substantial," says Jo Mhairi Hale, a sociologist at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland and the lead author on the study. Hale's team drew its data from the massive Health and Retirement Study, an extensive ongoing trove of information of 20,000 Americans maintained by the University of Michigan. What the Study Found About Cognitive Decline The authors didn't try to pinpoint an optimal retirement age — that would depend heavily on individual circumstances — but their results do suggest that generally speaking, sticking it out until age 67 (vs. retiring between age 55 and 66) can ward off the type of cognitive decline suffered by people with Alzheimer's disease. "The three of us who wrote the paper are not suggesting that it's paid work per se that is protective against cognitive decline. We think it's cognitive engagement." Subjects in the study averaged a onethird reduction in typical cognitive declines observed in people aged 61 to 67. What's more, the positive effects can be enduring, say the authors, lasting from age 67 at least through age 74.
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January 2022
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Beverly Farr doing a "brain-training" exercise on her computer (Credit: Courtesy of Kristin Farr)
Hale says one surprising finding was that it doesn't appear to matter what kind of work you do — whether it's highly brainintensive or nearly mindless. It all helps. In fact, the cognitive benefits may not be related to paid employment at all. "The three of us who wrote the paper are not suggesting that it's paid work per se that is protective against cognitive decline," Hale told Next Avenue. "We think it's cognitive engagement." That idea is borne out by some of the specific findings of Hale's team, including that just having a life partner offers some protection against decline. "What if you retire at age sixty but you're a grandparent and part of your daily activity becomes grandparenting?" muses Hale. "Or you're an active volunteer. Or you work part-time as a museum docent or whatever. Does that provide the same sort of protective effects against cognitive decline? I would guess that it does." The thing that matters, Hale said, "is cognitive engagement, not that you get a paycheck for your cognitive engagement."
A 75-Year-Old Finding Ways to Challenge Herself Case in point: Beverly Farr of Richmond, Calif. At 75, she's been retired from her work as an educational researcher for more than five years, but that doesn't mean she's slowed down. On the contrary. "I just liked being active and I wanted to stay active," says Farr. "And I think a little part of that was the idea of keeping your mind active and, you know, just being active in general." That she has done. Today, Farr juggles church activities with being a courtappointed advocate for foster youth. She's also taken on the daunting task of presiding over the homeowners' association of her 488-unit condo complex. As if that weren't enough, when her brother, Roger, died in 2019, Farr took over managing his boutique research firm part-time. She especially credits the often thankless homeowners' association work for keeping her on her toes.
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