Keeping A Steady Job Might Help You Stay Sharp Later In Life

Key TakeawaysKeeping a regular job might protect against brain agingMen with a spotty job history had brains about seven years older than expected, based on cognitive testsWomen who retired early had six years of additional brain agingFRIDAY, Sept. 25, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Middle-aged folks who have trouble keeping a regular job could wind up with brains that are old before their time, a new study says.Among men, a spotty employment history equated to having a brain roughly seven years older than it should be based on cognitive tests, researchers reported Sept. 23 in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia.Early retirement also appears to increase vulnerability to brain decline, researchers found.For women, early retirement or prolonged periods outside the workforce added up to six years of additional brain aging, the study showed.Overall, maintaining steady employment emerged as the most important job-related factor for protecting cognitive health, researchers concluded.In other words, keeping a job helped brain health, even if you were worried you might lose that job at any moment.“Our results suggest that employment continuity, rather than subjective job security, may be the more protective factor for cognitive aging,” lead researcher Erika Beidelman, a postdoctoral research scientist at Columbia University, said in a news release.For the new study, researchers analyzed data from an ongoing study of health and retirement among Americans, tracking the employment histories and brain function of more than 2,400 people. The team followed these folks for 16 years, from 1998 through 2014.The research team aimed to figure out whether a person’s perceived job insecurity weighs heavier on their brain health than their actual employment history.About 30% of women and 31% of men wound up with mild cognitive impairment or dementia by the end of the study.Results showed that men with inconsistent employment tended to have lower cognitive scores and higher odds of cognitive impairment.Likewise, women who retired early or spent long periods without a job had lower memory scores and impaired executive function — brain activity focused on planning and decision-making.“By embedding subjective job insecurity within long-term employment histories, this study provides a clearer picture of how psychosocial work dimensions unfold over decades,” Beidelman said.She said the findings carry meaningful implications for dementia prevention and public health policy.“Employment continuity across midlife may represent a modifiable factor associated with cognition decades later," Beidelman said. "Policies supporting sustained labor force attachment, reducing involuntary job transitions, and expanding access to cognitively engaging employment throughout midlife may help promote healthier cognitive aging.”More informationHarvard Law School has more on cognitive decline in the workplace.SOURCE: Columbia University, news release, Sept. 23, 2026 .What This Means For YouPeople should be aware that having a job can benefit their brain aging..Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

Keeping A Steady Job Might Help You Stay Sharp Later In Life

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