It’s challenging to stay mentally sharp and healthy through the major transition. Careful planning is key.
For the millions of Americans who retire each year, stopping work might seem like a well-deserved break. But it can also precipitate big changes in brain health, including an increased risk of cognitive decline and depression.
Before retiring, you’re getting up in the morning, socializing with co-workers and dealing with the mental challenges of your job, said Ross Andel, a professor at Arizona State University who studies cognitive aging and retirement. “All of a sudden, after 50 years, you lose that routine.”
There’s this idea that the body and brain adapt when they’re “no longer needed,” he added. “That’s when you see the deterioration and its natural response to inactivity.”
But retirement can also be an opportunity for improving cognitive and mental health, with newfound time to socialize and take on hobbies. And even if you have started to experience some decline, there’s strong evidence that your brain can bounce back from periods of inactivity, even in older age, said Giacomo Pasini, a professor of econometrics at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, who studies the impact of economic policy on seniors’ mental health.
A Decline in Cognition and Mood
One analysis of more than 8,000 retirees in Europe found that people’s verbal memory (the ability to recall a set of words after a certain amount of time) generally declined faster once they retired, compared with when they were working. Another survey conducted in England showed a steep decline in verbal memory after retirement, though other skills, like abstract reasoning, were not affected.
“There’s some evidence out there that retirement may be bad for cognition, because when you retire, you don’t challenge your brain as much,” said Guglielmo Weber, a professor of econometrics at the University of Padova in Italy who worked on the Europe study.