Mentally Stimulating Work May Protect The Brain
A recent investigation suggests that engaging in cognitively stimulating work throughout your career may lower the risk of memory and thinking problems later in life. Researchers from Oslo University Hospital reviewed registry and medical data on over 7,000 individuals across 305 occupations in Norway, assessing the cognitive demands of various jobs.
They found that jobs requiring more complex thinking were associated with a reduced risk of mild cognitive impairment after age 70. The study identified routine manual, routine cognitive, non-routine analytical, and non-routine interpersonal tasks as factors influencing cognitive stimulation at work. Notably, participants with jobs demanding higher cognitive engagement, such as teaching, showed lower rates of mild cognitive impairment compared to those with less cognitively demanding jobs like mail carriers or custodians. Even after adjusting for potentially contributing factors, including age and education, the career group with lower cognitive demands had a significantly higher risk of mild cognitive impairment. This research underscores the importance of participating in cognitively engaging activities, including work environments, for maintaining brain health in old age.
Source
neurology/doi/10.1212/WNL.0000000000209353
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