What
if ‘busyness’ is kind of like a fountain of youth? What if being
busy, staying very active is a way to stay young?”
A
groundbreaking study from The Dallas Lifespan
Brain Study
of 300 older individuals between the ages of 50 and 89, found that the brains
of people who were busy, worked better—regardless of their age: “Busier people
tend to have better cognition, especially episodic memory. Our findings offer
encouragement to maintain active, busy lifestyles throughout middle and late
adulthood.” The study noted that busier people could reason better, had better
working memory, better vocabulary and had better ability to remember specific
events from the past.
Since
mental decline is something many of us fear as we go from 50 to 60 to 70 and
beyond, this is extremely valuable information. Get busy, and you
can keep those brains humming along just fine.
In
practical terms, take a second look at retirement. Maybe the
fantasy of sitting on a beach sipping pina coladas for those 20 or 30 or 40
years post-retirement isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Maybe
you’d be better off sipping a pina coladas on an occasional Friday evening
after work.
If
your job is not-so-pleasant and you can afford to opt out of the working world, take on a volunteer role: There are volunteer organizations
to fit every conceivable interest. There are even online volunteer matching organizations that help you find the
best volunteer fit for you. And of course there are hobbies you never had time
for, physical activity to keep your body healthy and time even to start a
second career.
The
Dallas Lifespan Brain Study points out that the more opportunities to learn and
the more we are in contact with different people and situations, the more we stimulate
our brains. A mix of activities--some creative, some physical,
some giving back, some just plain fun—can be a wonderful approach to a busy,
meaningful and rewarding long life.
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