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Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study

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Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study

#161

Post by markus_zhang »

um_ya wrote: post #158
Daynil wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand how so many people can anchor their lives to work. If you do that, when you retire, you've lost your meaning of life. I have a list of things a mile long that I just can't get to because 40 hours a week is already spoken for. Early retirement speeds cognitive decline? Maybe if you sit on the beach and/or watch TV all day long, but that sounds kind of miserable if done for more than a few weeks.

Some of us see work as the meaning of life. Traveling and doing things just for the experience alone seems kind of meaningless. Great for vacation, but not great for long term goals. Perhaps if you're at a dead end job, then work might feel meaningless, I agree.

totally agree with you. if i love my job then no reason to retire.

Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study

#162

Post by lutorm »

um_ya wrote: post #158
Daynil wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand how so many people can anchor their lives to work. If you do that, when you retire, you've lost your meaning of life. I have a list of things a mile long that I just can't get to because 40 hours a week is already spoken for. Early retirement speeds cognitive decline? Maybe if you sit on the beach and/or watch TV all day long, but that sounds kind of miserable if done for more than a few weeks.

Some of us see work as the meaning of life. Traveling and doing things just for the experience alone seems kind of meaningless. Great for vacation, but not great for long term goals. Perhaps if you're at a dead end job, then work might feel meaningless, I agree.

Except that if you retire early you can still "work". It's just that you can work on whatever you want, not just on what someone will pay you for.

Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study

#163

Post by cj »

um_ya wrote: post #158
Daynil wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand how so many people can anchor their lives to work. If you do that, when you retire, you've lost your meaning of life. I have a list of things a mile long that I just can't get to because 40 hours a week is already spoken for. Early retirement speeds cognitive decline? Maybe if you sit on the beach and/or watch TV all day long, but that sounds kind of miserable if done for more than a few weeks.

Some of us see work as the meaning of life. Traveling and doing things just for the experience alone seems kind of meaningless. Great for vacation, but not great for long term goals. Perhaps if you're at a dead end job, then work might feel meaningless, I agree.

To the people downvoting this: why is this an unreasonable perspective?

The commenter isn't advocating one way or another, only pointing out that there are people that exist who are content with work as their self-perceived life meaning.

I can absolutely see how this can be true for people in the sciences. There are many academics who devote their entire career - and often their life - to finding the answer to extremely difficult problems. For those people, I imagine they must feel their work as more of a life mission rather than a regular job necessary to pay the bills.

There are a lot of people who find significant meaning in their work (perhaps greater meaning in their work than they've been able to find outside of it). That doesn't necessarily mean it's bad or unhealthy.

These type of people may be few and far between. But they exist.

Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study

#165

Post by porknubbins »

varjag wrote: post #65
ericmcer wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My dad always refers to his body in a similar manner to how one would refer to a car, I.E. “too much mileage on me”, “I walked a lot so now my knees are worn out”. I wonder if their generation has a more simplistic view of our bodies as mechanical things.

The joints do get worn out with the age tho..

From what I’ve seen it seems more likely that joints take constant low level wear but at young ages the repair mechanisms easily compensate for everyone but extreme athletes, while at older ages it takes much less to overwhelm the repair mechanisms and start doing long term damage.

Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study

#167

Post by spurdoman77 »

lutorm wrote: post #162
um_ya wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some of us see work as the meaning of life. Traveling and doing things just for the experience alone seems kind of meaningless. Great for vacation, but not great for long term goals. Perhaps if you're at a dead end job, then work might feel meaningless, I agree.

Except that if you retire early you can still "work". It's just that you can work on whatever you want, not just on what someone will pay you for.

But is it work if no one is willing to pay for it? I would consider that to be hobby.

Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study

#168

Post by disordinary »

Daynil wrote: post #112
2muchcoffeeman wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess this is why you should work less hard and do more to cultivate hobbies. I can’t imagine retiring and doing nothing. So many projects.

I don't understand how so many people can anchor their lives to work. If you do that, when you retire, you've lost your meaning of life. I have a list of things a mile long that I just can't get to because 40 hours a week is already spoken for. Early retirement speeds cognitive decline? Maybe if you sit on the beach and/or watch TV all day long, but that sounds kind of miserable if done for more than a few weeks.

It's quite common for people to die within months of retiring, even if they retire healthy. It's down to a lack of purpose.

Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study

#169

Post by mattrp »

monster_group wrote: post #9

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 tol…

My dad was the same - he literally wrote software for a computer that hadn’t been built yet. That’s just such a foreign concept to me. But in his last years he was barely able to use a web browser despite the fact he spent nearly his entire adult life as a developer. I don’t know if the slowdown comes first or if it comes after retirement but it frightens the hell out of me either way. And it is probably the thing that I most think about when policies like UBI are brought up.

Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study

#170

Post by digaozao »

ericmcer wrote: post #39
dexwiz wrote: post #14

Sitting around May Speed Up Cognitive Decline. Both my Grandfathers retired shortly before seventy. One sat down in his Chair and did not get up. He ignored his health, and passed within 10 years. The other is highly active in his community and church, still gardens, and travels constantly. He is in his mid 80s with no sign of slowing down. Barring a major health incident, he will live well into his 90s like his moth…

My dad always refers to his body in a similar manner to how one would refer to a car, I.E. “too much mileage on me”, “I walked a lot so now my knees are worn out”. I wonder if their generation has a more simplistic view of our bodies as mechanical things.

Sometimes I imagine a future where you van replace parts of your body. A knee, hip or ankle replacement, and a yearly revision after 70 (like a cara), and we could live until 200.

Probably this thinking comes from "ghost in the shell" mixed with Asimov's books.

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