Plenty of people fantasise about the chance to put their feet up in retirement and just relax.
But new research suggests there are cognitive risks for those who don’t keep busy when they’ve stopped working.
The paper, which you can read here, examines the cognitive levels of workers who had participated in a rural pension program introduced in China.
Researchers found people who participated in the program, which guaranteed a stable income for those over the country’s retirement age of 60, experienced a cognitive decline equivalent to a 1.7% drop in general intelligence, compared to the rest of the population.
This works out to be around three IQ points.
Researchers believe while an early retirement had benefits like reduced stress, better diets and more sleep for participants, it also saw them participate in fewer social activities and spend less time challenging their minds.
“When people consider retirement, they should weigh the benefits with the significant downsides of a sudden lack of mental activity,” says the paper’s author, Assistant Professor Plamen Nikolov from the State University of New York.
“A good way to ameliorate these effects is to stay engaged in social activities and continue to use your brain in the same way you did when you were working.”
“In short, we show that if you rest, you rust.”
Researchers note the findings could be context-specific, and may not apply as significantly to people in other settings.
For instance, people living in rural China might not have as many opportunities to socialise as someone living in a retirement community in Australia.
But it just goes to show – it’s always a good idea to keep the cogs spinning.
