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Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study

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181–190 of 292 posts

Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study

#182
post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

What's the best way to preserve them

I am only in my mid 30s, but losing 20lbs, switching from heavy weight lifting to more cardio/light weight training, taking a few supplements, long stretching sessions and sauna sessions have me feeling more spry than I did when I was 21. Not sure how long that will keep up, but I don't intend to give into inactivity without a fight :p.

Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study

#183
post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's the best way to preserve them

Never use them. Truthfully I believe it's strength training that actually helps keep them up. Could be wrong.

IMHO. Moderate strength, moderate cardio, Moderate mobility. Mobility in particular may improve blood irrigation on the joints and help regeneration.

Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study

#184
My personal anecdotes are many but most of the elderly that I knew to be highly active, sociable and of sound mind were people who did stuff that was engaging and social. The only real limiting factor for the elderly that I knew well was when they had health problems (falls, stroke, heart attack, etc.) that they didn't recover from due to age.

I would suggest that if you see retirement in your future then getting a long lasting hobby (gardening, wood working, etc), a simple side job or even volunteering (hospitals need volunteers for so many things) to make retirement a period where your mind/body is used.

Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study

#185
post #158
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.

Work is the way you contribute back into society. Going to work and doing my job is my way of knowing that I'm giving back into the system that allows me and my family to live. I find it far more fulfilling than anything else.

Hobbies I hate. By definition I'm an amateur and I don't perform well. At my job, I get to exercise the skills I'm best at.

I can't do any old job though. I have to be able to trace at least a thin line from what I'm doing to the broader society.

I know this isn't a common opinion, but I encourage you to at least consider that work—while not fun—is at least a fulfilling way to spend your time. This should be the case regardless of what you do or how much you make.

Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study

#186
post #163
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.

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 extrem…

I don't even think you need to be in the sciences. Perhaps it's a result of a protestant upbringing, but I grew up in blue-collar America where virtually everyone was a tradesman. If I may generalize: these are people that while they might complain and dislike going to work, they feel deep satisfaction about contributing back to society.

Or maybe it's that with trades you have a direct connection to the work you do and the effect it has on the world.

Either way I think we could learn something from them. White collar types seem to want to avoid work at all costs. Work isn't to be avoided. In fact if you measure your life by how much it affects others, it's probably the most important part of your life.

Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study

#188
post #94

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Obviously. That’s the first thing you teach kids when the start browsing by themselves. Google provides a security layer over the brand-domain pair. Google profits handsomely from this service but it is invaluable nonetheless.

Except when Google shows another domain as the first (ad) result.

I’ve seen people get viruses from downloading the “first result” on Google, which winds up being a malicious ad.

Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study

#189

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…

My understanding is that social activities are even more important than mentally stimulating activities.

Humans are social animals, so I tend to agree. My hunch is that feeling, on a visceral level, that you are necessary to the people around you in some fashion is what will keep the will to live burning bright. It can be actual or merely delusional - the important aspect being the level of conviction in the belief.

Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study

#190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Brain volume by age: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316307676/figure/fi... Various forms of intelligence by age: https://miro.medium.com/max/1038/1*ccb0bgIqgebwJWTdMGMXXQ.pn... If this correlation isn't causation, then I'm not sure what is.

Your chart seems to indicate software development related intelligence peaks somewhere between 40-60. Given this, why do software companies like young people so much?

pay them less, easier to get to do stupid things (work really hard). but its a stupid choice.
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