Jobs involving creativity and teamwork reduce the risk of cognitive illness as we age

Exercising a profession that stimulates the brain helps prevent the onset of cognitive disorders and dementia. This is what a Norwegian study shows.

To reduce the risk of developing brain-related diseases with age, it is better to work in a team and pursue a job where creativity is stimulated. Doctor Martin Ducret, doctor and journalist at Doctor’s Dailyreturns to the results of the study which affirms this.

franceinfo: How did the authors of this study proceed?

Martin Ducret : This is a Norwegian study published in the journal Neurologyin which the authors determined, among 7,000 participants over the age of 70, which profession(s) they had practiced from their thirties until retirement. In total, 305 occupations were identified and for each, a routine occupational task index was assigned. This index, with an intensity of 1 to 4, considered several dimensions of work: the repetitive nature of manual and cognitive tasks, the degree of reflection and analysis of information, the level of competence and interaction with others. other people. For example, work at an isolated station, with a lot of repetition of manual gestures and leaving little room for decision-making was classified at 4, while a job stimulating creativity, the development of projects and working in team was ranked 1. The authors were able to conclude that the risk of developing cognitive disorders and dementia was 37% higher in level 4 professions, which have a low degree of cognitive demand, than in level 1 professions.

Would work that is not very stimulating for the brain be a risk factor for the appearance of cognitive disorders, in the same way as physical inactivity, for example?

Absolutely, according to Professor Audrey Gabelle, neurologist at the memory center at Montpellier University Hospital: “The degree of reflection within a profession is a determining element on which we can act to delay the onset of dementia.” The objective is to preserve as much as possible our cognitive reserve, that is to say the capacity of the brain to remain operational, which depends on many factors: age, education, the occurrence of certain chronic illnesses such as diabetes. or the type of profession.

What can you do if you don’t have an intellectually stimulating job?

By continuing to train to gain skills and develop your professional career. More radically, you can choose to change careers. Otherwise, during repetitive manual work, you can listen to philosophy or history podcasts. It is also possible to occupy your free time with a more intellectually fulfilling activity, getting involved in an association for example. The main thing is to positively stimulate our brain throughout life, to take it out of its comfort zone, to arouse its curiosity and to cultivate its creativity.

To find out more: details of the study (article in English).