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A 40-hour work week after the age of 40 could damage the brain

A new study found that people over the age of 40 who worked more than 25 hours experienced a decline in cognition.

(Google)

While numerous countries around the world have opted to raise the age of retirement in an effort to cut government spending on pensions, a new study is shedding light on the potentially damaging effects on the brain from working full time after middle age.

The paper, published by University of Melbourne, says that working a typical 40-hour week after the age of 40 could impair cognitive function.

“Work can stimulate brain activity and can help maintain cognitive functions for elderly workers, the ‘lose it or use it hypothesis,’” Colin McKenzie, one of the paper’s author’s and a professor of economics at Keio University in Tokyo,” told the BBC.

“But at the same time, excessively long working hours can cause fatigue and physical and/or psychological stress, which potentially damage cognitive functioning.”

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The study found that people over the age of 40 who worked more than 25 hours experienced a decline in cognition.

But those who maintained a part-time work schedule of up to about 25 hours saw the opposite results.

More specifically, male participants tested positively in terms of cognition when working hours up to 25 to 30 hours a week, while women scored better during a slightly lighter schedule of 22 to 27 hours.

After that, work had a negative effect.

“Work can be a double-edged sword, in that it can stimulate brain activity, but at the same time, long working hours and certain types of tasks can cause fatigue and stress which potentially damage cognition,” said McKenzie.

The study used data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey, which is managed by the University of Melbourne and funded by the government, which asks respondents about their well being, finances, family and other labour-related information.

It examined Wave 12 and its data on three tests of cognitive ability: the backward digit span (BDS), the symbol digit modalities (SDM) and a version of the national adult reading test.

The BDS is a memory span test that asks participants to read out a string of single-digit numbers and then repeat them in reverse order.

The SDM tests a person’s visual scanning, motor speed and divided attention by asking them to match symbols to numbers using a printed answer key.

And the version of the national adult reading test used by the survey asked respondents to correctly read 25 irregularly spelled words.

It provides a snapshot of crystallized intelligence, or their ability to use skills, knowledge and experience. It is not a form of memory but relies on accessing information from long-term memory.

McKenzie told the BBC that age 40 appears to be turning point for the mind because people’s fluid intelligence, or the ability to solve problems by identifying patterns and applying logic without relying on past knowledge,starts to decline at about the age of 20.

And crystallized intelligence starts decreasing after age 30.

By 40, McKenzie said, most people start to receive lower test scores for memory, pattern recognition and mental agility exercises.

In particular, the study indicates working long hours and certain types of tasks can cause fatigue and stress, which can “potentially damage” these cognitive functions.

“These results suggest that people in old age could maintain their cognitive ability by working in a part-time job that requires them to work around 20–30 hours per week,” advised the study’s authors.

The paper points out that the findings are increasingly relevant given that many Western nations -- such as Belgium Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and Spain -- plan to delay retirement beyond the traditional age of 65.