Having a good job might be vital for strong financial health, but could your career also be the key to a sharp brain in the long run? New research out of Norway suggests that having a cognitively stimulating job during your working years may play a crucial role in preserving your memory and thinking skills well into your golden years.
The study, published in the online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, looked at the relationship between the cognitive demands of people’s jobs throughout their careers and their risk of developing mild cognitive impairment (MCI) after age 70. MCI is a condition characterized by noticeable declines in memory and thinking abilities that go beyond the normal, gradual changes associated with aging. While it doesn’t severely impair daily functioning like dementia does, MCI still makes mental tasks more difficult and often progresses to Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia.
To understand how our careers might impact our cognitive health down the road, the researchers analyzed data from 7,000 individuals across 305 different occupations in Norway. They assessed the degree of cognitive stimulation required by each job, classifying the necessary tasks and skills into four main categories:
1. Routine manual tasks, like those often performed in factory jobs, which demand physical speed, equipment handling, and repetitive motions.
2. Routine cognitive tasks, typical in bookkeeping or filing jobs, which require precision and accuracy in repetitive mental duties.
3. Non-routine analytical tasks, which involve analyzing information, creative thinking and interpreting data for others, as seen in jobs like computer programming.
4. Non-routine interpersonal tasks, fundamental to fields like public relations, which center on building relationships, motivating teams, and coaching others.
The participants were divided into four groups based on the overall level of cognitive stimulation their jobs entailed throughout their careers, from lowest to highest. The most common jobs in the highest stimulation group were teachers, while the lowest group was largely comprised of mail carriers and custodians.
Here’s where it gets interesting: When the participants were evaluated for mild cognitive impairment after turning 70, there was a striking difference between the highest and lowest stimulation groups. In the group with the least cognitively demanding jobs, a staggering 42% were diagnosed with MCI. But in the group with the most stimulating jobs, that number dropped to 27% – a much more promising outcome. Even after the researchers accounted for other factors that can influence cognitive health, like age, sex, education, income and lifestyle, they found that the lowest stimulation group had a 66% higher risk of MCI compared to the highest group.
So what does this mean for you and me? “These results indicate that both education and doing work that challenges your brain during your career play a crucial role in lowering the risk of cognitive impairment later in life,” says lead study author Dr. Trine Holt Edwin in a media release.
In other words, pushing yourself to learn, grow, and take on stimulating projects at work isn’t just good for your career advancement – it may actually help keep your mind sharper for longer. This is an empowering finding, suggesting that the choices we make in our professional lives can have profound impacts on our mental well-being decades down the line.
Of course, like any good scientist, Dr. Edwin acknowledges that more research is needed to pinpoint exactly which cognitively stimulating job tasks are most beneficial for brain health. Even within the same job title, the actual day-to-day duties and mental demands can vary quite a bit.
But one thing is clear: Engaging in work that regularly challenges us to analyze information, think creatively, build interpersonal connections, and develop new skills is not only fulfilling in the short-term but may also be a valuable investment in our long-term cognitive health. In a world where we’re living longer than ever before, that’s no small thing.
So whether you’re a fresh-faced graduate just starting your career, a seasoned professional considering a pivot, or a retiree looking for meaningful ways to stay sharp, this study offers an compelling reason to gravitate towards jobs and projects that stretch your mental muscles. Your 70, 80 or 90-year-old self just might thank you for it.
After all, we spend such a huge portion of our lives at work – shouldn’t we make that time count, both for our present selves and our future cognitive health? Food for thought, indeed.
