Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study

#1

Post by spking » Wed, Oct 30, 2019, 7:34 PM UTC

Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study
studyfinds.org

Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study

#2

Post by cevn » Wed, Oct 30, 2019, 8:02 PM UTC

Anecdotally, my grandfather is 92 or so and still works as a journalist (reduced hours). He is still super sharp and does yoga every day. Blows my mind.

Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study

#3

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Oct 30, 2019, 8:05 PM UTC

[deleted]

Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study

#4

Post by mark_l_watson » Wed, Oct 30, 2019, 8:07 PM UTC

I hope not, I recently retired. Still, the idea makes some sense. In retirement, I try to read one paper a day (usually deep learning, PGM, or classic AI), play at least one game of Go and Chess, do some recreational programming, and read. But, I don’t work into a state of brain-tiredness anymore like I used to at work.

Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study

#5

Post by mark_l_watson » Wed, Oct 30, 2019, 8:08 PM UTC

cevn wrote: post #2

Anecdotally, my grandfather is 92 or so and still works as a journalist (reduced hours). He is still super sharp and does yoga every day. Blows my mind.

My Dad is 98, retired when he was about 80. He is still very sharp mentally, but has taken on hobbies like video production and 3D animation. Hopefully hobbies count towards brain health.

Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study

#6

Post by irrational » Wed, Oct 30, 2019, 8:08 PM UTC

My dad is a doctor in his 70s. He works 60 hour weeks (which he claims counts as retirement for doctors). He truly believes that true retirement is suicide. He wants to be found dead while doing rounds at the hospital.

Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study

#7

Post by ak39 » Wed, Oct 30, 2019, 8:10 PM UTC

I've always benchmarked post-retiring cognitive abilities and professional continuity with Noam Chomsky. He is my hero in that aspect too. If I can continue to do what I do now at his age, I'm ready for the off.

Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study

#8

Post by imesh » Wed, Oct 30, 2019, 8:10 PM UTC

mark_l_watson wrote: post #4

I hope not, I recently retired. Still, the idea makes some sense. In retirement, I try to read one paper a day (usually deep learning, PGM, or classic AI), play at least one game of Go and Chess, do some recreational programming, and read. But, I don’t work into a state of brain-tiredness anymore like I used to at work.

Statistics are useful for understanding a population but not for an individual. Some people get bored without work. I have never felt bored when not working. My grandfathers both worked as professors until they where forced to retire due to Alzheimers. Running marathons and working into their 70s didn't stop their mental decline. Should I focus on the statistics or my genetic history?

Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study

#9

Post by monster_group » Wed, Oct 30, 2019, 8:11 PM UTC

Not only early retirement but any kind of retirement that gets the retiree in a mode that they don't have to try anymore will result in cognitive decline. I am seeing this in my dad who has been retired for ten years now. Throughout his work life he was a sharp hard working banker. Now he uses his age and retirement as an excuse for not trying. Just yesterday he wanted me to order something for him from Amazon. I told him to send me the link to the item. He asked me how to do that. I told him if you can't find the Share link just copy the link and send it to me. He responds by saying that he doesn't know how to do copy-paste. He has been using computers for at least the last fifteen years. I asked him how come he didn't know how to copy-paste. His response was - I am retired now and there's nobody to tell me or teach me. I can see the cognitive decline. Things he used to be able to do, he can't anymore. This type of attitude is also affecting his self respect and confidence.

Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study

#10

Post by infinite_luck » Wed, Oct 30, 2019, 8:22 PM UTC

This is something I think about a lot. I plan to never stop doing mentally stimulating activities, even in my old age. The difference you can see in cognitive ability between the elderly is staggering.

One particular instance that sticks in my mind was a video filmed in the UK where for some unrelated reason four older men and women were interviewed, with ages ranging between 80 and the low 100's. The mid 80 year old had trouble recalling information, spoke slowly, and generally seemed to exist in a fog so thick you could practically see it. On the other hand, the person around 100 was completely lucid, maybe even sharper than me! I can't say for sure that this is due to keeping busy and not partially genetic as well, but the variability really struck me.