Author Topic: FIRE bad for the brain ?  (Read 3558 times)


RosieTR

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Re: FIRE bad for the brain ?
« Reply #1 on: March 07, 2016, 02:47:18 PM »
Sounds like, and this has been known for some time, social engagement and mental stimulation are critical for retaining good brain function. Generally these also help one stay happy, which in turn helps retain brain function, so it's a positive cycle.

This article seemed to take population data and extrapolate it in a way that may possibly be suspect. Two of the three studies were clearly correlative. The other did multiple tests on the same person, but did not appear to control for the quality of retirement. I would tend to suspect that it's probably more important to get the factors mentioned above than to receive money for it.

slugline

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Re: FIRE bad for the brain ?
« Reply #2 on: March 07, 2016, 03:00:54 PM »
The first problem with "FIRE" in this thread's title is that the article discussed seems to be focused exclusively on the "Retire Early" part and nothing about the "Financial Independence" part.

The second problem is that I really don't think an MMM-style retirement doesn't contain a high level of porch-sitting to be honest.

pdxbator

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Re: FIRE bad for the brain ?
« Reply #3 on: March 07, 2016, 03:06:41 PM »
i've definitely seen changes in my dad since he retired. I see changes that I want to make in my retirement compared to his. He and my mom are still in the same large suburban house on half an acre, away from neighbors. They don't have close interaction with people. I don't intend to have that in my retirement. I would rather live in an urban area, with a smaller footprint and have more interaction with people and cultural events. My parents don't partake in much of that. In travelling internationally I see places like Germany where they live in smaller apartment living and can travel by mass transit easily. That's what I want in my older age retirement too.

NoraLenderbee

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Re: FIRE bad for the brain ?
« Reply #4 on: March 07, 2016, 04:23:15 PM »
My father definitely got happier after he retired.

deborah

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Re: FIRE bad for the brain ?
« Reply #5 on: March 08, 2016, 03:59:24 AM »
One problem is that a lot of people who retire early are worn out, and will tend to die earlier. I would like to know how these people are accounted for in such studies. There was a French long term study of the retired employees of a state owned company - maybe the electricity provider. Anyway, their figures showed that the earlier people retired the better their health including their cognitive functioning.

Parizade

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Re: FIRE bad for the brain ?
« Reply #6 on: March 08, 2016, 04:01:46 AM »
My father definitely got happier after he retired.

This study supports the idea that your father's experience is typical
http://www.today.com/health/retirement-boosts-happiness-improves-health-study-finds-t32941

I would like to see a study that looks at cognitive decline in people who have to work long hours in mindless jobs just to make ends meet. I suspect there are many employment situations that are worse than retirement in that regard.
« Last Edit: March 08, 2016, 04:04:00 AM by Parizade »

Mr. Green

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Re: FIRE bad for the brain ?
« Reply #7 on: March 08, 2016, 08:43:15 AM »
I'm fairly confident I've experienced cognitive decline because I'm forced to work with dumb coworkers. FIRE can't be anything but an improvement for me!