Work stress is not as bad for our brain as we have been led to believe.
A mentally challenging job could reduce your chances of developing dementia, according to a new analysis.
The harder your brain works at your job, the less likely you are to have memory and thinking problems in the future, the study suggests.
The findings contradict claims by some who blame much of America’s health crises on overwork, including those who support the four-day work week initiative launched by Senator Bernie Sanders.
But new research suggests that jobs that are mentally stimulating but avoid repetition (such as teaching, working in public relations, or being a computer programmer) are beneficial.
Meanwhile, road workers and cleaning staff could be at greater risk.
The researchers looked at 7,000 people and 305 occupations in Norway and found that teaching had the highest cognitive demands. They found that the harder your brain works at your job, the less likely you are to have memory and thinking problems in the future.
As part of the study, a team from Oslo University Hospital in Norway analyzed 7,000 people in 305 different occupations.
They measured the amount of cognitive stimulation the participants experienced while at work and divided them into four groups based on their results.
They also measured the degree of routine manual tasks performed, for example, repetitive movements during factory work, and the degree of repetitive cognitive tasks such as accounting and filing.
Next, they recorded the degree of non-repetitive analytical tasks, such as engaging in creative thinking, the degree of non-routine interpersonal tasks, such as coaching, and the degree of non-repetitive cognitive tasks involved in careers such as public relations and computer programming. .
After age 70, participants completed memory and thinking tests to assess whether they had mild cognitive impairment.
Senator Bernie Sanders believes it is time for the United States to abandon the 40-hour work week and establish a standard 32-hour work week without reducing workers’ pay.
The analysis revealed that of those who had jobs with the lowest cognitive demands, 42 percent were diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment.
Of those who had jobs with the highest cognitive demands, 27 percent were diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment.
Overall, the group with the lowest cognitive demands at work had a 66 percent higher risk of mild cognitive impairment compared to the group with the highest cognitive demands.
Author Trine Edwin said: “We examined the demands of several jobs and found that cognitive stimulation at work during different stages of life (during the 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s) was associated with a reduced risk of mild cognitive impairment. after the age of 12.” 70.
“Our findings highlight the value of having a job that requires more complex thinking as a way to possibly maintain memory and thinking in old age.”
The findings were published in the journal Neurology.