A latest University of Michigan study found that mentally challenging jobs could keep minds of older citizens active long after their retirement.
Researchers said that although mentally demanding jobs stress people out, they could prove beneficial in later stages of life.
"Based on data spanning 18 years, our study suggests that certain kinds of challenging jobs have the potential to enhance and protect workers' mental functioning in later life," Gwenith Fisher, a faculty associate at the Institute for Social Research and assistant professor of psychology at Colorado State University, said in a statement.
For the study, the researchers examined data on 4,182 participants from the U-M Health and Retirement Study. The participants were interviewed eight times between 1992 and 2010. All the respondents were in the age group of 51 and 61 when the interview process started. The study group consisted of people with varying job profiles, who worked in the same company for more than 25 years (average) before retirement.
During their employment period, the participants were involved in tasks that required analyzing data, developing objectives and strategies, making decisions, solving problems, evaluating information and creative thinking among others.
The participants also underwent a series of tests to determine their mental functioning. They were asked to recollect 10 nouns twice - immediately and sometime after seeing the list. The participants were also asked to count 100 backwards by sevens.
The researchers found that participants, who worked in jobs with high mental demands, were more likely to have enhanced memories before their retirement and experience slower declines in memory post their professional life.
"These results suggest that working in an occupation that requires a variety of mental processes may be beneficial to employees," said Jessica Faul, an ISR assistant research scientist. "It's likely that being exposed to new experiences or more mentally complex job duties may benefit not only newer workers but more seasoned employees as well."
The study however did not establish a direct cause and effect link between mental work demands and cognitive change post retirement. The researchers said that people with higher levels of mental functioning might have chosen mind-challenging jobs.
"What people do outside of work could also be a factor," Fisher said. "Some people may be very active in hobbies and other activities that are mentally stimulating and demanding, while others are not."
The finding is published in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology.
