A recent study has shown that early retirement can accelerate cognitive decline. Specifically, the study found that early retirement led to poor memory or recall, which is an early predictor of dementia.
Now, I don’t want to work forever, but I am also banking on a good quality of life for at least a few years after retirement. So, what to do?
As a side note, the researchers did point out that retirees’ sleep and other physical health measures improved in retirement. But mental health… not so much.
It seems we tend to decline in brain function after retiring, unless you do these two things that positively impacted retirees’ cognitive function: maintain and foster good relationships and do things to keep your brain active.
Keep your mind sharp in retirement
“Social engagement and connectedness may simply be the single most powerful factors for cognitive performance in old age,” the study reports. “Policymakers can introduce policies aimed at buffering the reduction of social engagement and mental activities.”
So, the good news is that there’s a solution that should keep your body healthy (just retire) and your mind healthy (stay social and keep learning) well into your older years. Retirement is a good stress reductor, and if you work on having strong relationships and take a lifelong learning approach to life, you will keep your mind active and alert.
It’s not about books and classrooms
In fact, lifelong learning has been all the rage in corporate offices around the world over the past couple of years, and there’s an increasing body of evidence that we should all be focusing on lifelong learning, at every stage in our lives, not just the first 20 years.
But what if you were never really good at school to begin with? Or you made it through with flying colours but could think of nothing worse than going back? What if you never liked school or learning just isn’t your thing?
It’s true that the old adage ‘use it or lose it’ applies to our brains, but that doesn’t mean you have to spend your retirement auditing university courses. In fact, the great news is that ‘lifelong learning’ isn’t about learning at all. It’s about curiosity, which simply means wanting to learn, explore, discover and understand.
There are plenty of activities that you can do to keep your mind active, and many of them also include the added benefits of being social activities where you can meet others and build relationships too. Here are just a few:
Travel
Plan and book a holiday with family or friends. Research the things you can do and see while you’re away and read up on the area’s history before you go. You don’t even have to go far, why not plan a series of local trips to places you can drive to within 2hrs on the weekend?
Garden
Research the types of plants what would flourish in your garden and then buy the bulbs and plant a garden. Speak to the people at your local gardening store to ask questions and get advice.
Volunteer
Reach out to a local church or national organisation in your area to find a volunteer opportunity that suits your natural talents and interests. If you were a nurse, you could now read to sick kids in hospital. If you were in the Army, you could help at the local Scout hall.
Exercise
There are many activities now for retirees, try asking at your local library, council or reach out to a national organisation to enquire about local programs. If you are new to exercising, you can try low impact activities like Tai Chi, water aerobics, or dancing.
Why not try one of these activities to keep your mind sharp in retirement? Or come up with one of your own? It’s never too late to start incorporating a Lifelong Learning approach into your life.
Related reading: 3 ways to bring inspiration into your daily life
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