How Your Job and Education May Help Ward Off Dementia

If your years in college were more than just an excuse to party, than you may have done more for yourself than you know – in terms of your health. A recent Italian study has shown that a higher level of education, as well as a more demanding job, will help to prevent your body from developing dementia, and may even help prevent Alzheimer’s disease. Let’s take a closer look . . .

What is Dementia?

Dementia is the gradual decline in your body’s cognitive functions.  Although dementia is not very specific in which areas of cognitive abilities it affects, it can influence your attention span, memory, language skills and problem solving skills. Dementia can be caused by damage to your physical body or by disease, and symptoms of dementia can be irreversible. Oftentimes dementia is a precursor to the more damaging Alzheimer’s disease.

However, there is good news on the horizon! The previously mentioned Italian study on dementia has shown that the more stimulating your career is and the higher level of an education you have, the lower your risk of suffering memory problems, as well as other symptoms of dementia.

How does this concept work?

By having a higher education, such as a collegiate or university degree, you are already on your way to keeping your brain sharp.  And, the more education you have, the greater the likelihood of you getting a high-level, demanding job.  The more demanding your job proves to be, the more brain power and cognitive functions you will have to use to perform the required tasks of your job. 

By using your cognitive functions, such as your memory, language skills, and problem solving skills, on a regular basis, you are improving the strength of those cognitive functions.  And, the stronger your cognitive functions are, the harder it will be for an illness such as dementia or Alzheimer’s disease to negatively affect them. 

Is it too late for you?

Even if you don’t have a PhD or similar degree, you can still reap the benefits of “exercising” your brain. Simple things such as doing a crossword puzzle or other word-based game every day, or challenging your mind by trying to memorize your grocery list, can also help strengthen your cognitive functions. If you want to “step it up” even more, try learning a foreign language!

Every day we learn more and more about ways to ward off diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer’s. This may just be one way you didn’t even realize was already working to your advantage.