Complex jobs 'may protect memory'

[Northerner]

People with mentally taxing jobs, including lawyers and graphic designers, may end up having better memory in old age, research suggests.

A study of more than 1,000 Scottish 70-year-olds found that those who had had complex jobs scored better on memory and thinking tests.

One theory is a more stimulating environment helps build up a "cognitive reserve" to help buffer the brain against age-related decline,

The research was reported in Neurology.

The team, from Heriot-Watt University, in Edinburgh, is now planning more work to look at how lifestyle and work interact to affect memory loss.

Those taking part in the study took tests designed to assess memory, processing speed and general thinking ability, as well as filling in a questionnaire about their working life.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-30115497

 

[bill hopkinson]

There is some hope for me then.
I will tell myself this when I next have a senior moment.

 

[trophywench]

Someone told me once how to tell if your memory loss was just AD or something serious.

Apparently if you walk upstairs, stand on the landing and can't remember what you came for, that's just old age. (Good, cos I've been doing that off and on for a couple of decades)

If you have the car keys, and do not know what they ARE let alone what they're FOR - it's probably serious ! (Thank God mine have a tag that says Citroen and the others are similar - Fiat, MG, Honda, Triumph LOL)