October 7, 2026
Your employment history may impact the health of your brain. A new study found that steady employment in midlife was associated with better memory and thinking skills later in life. Having an unstable job history, retiring early or dropping out of the labor force entirely, on the other hand, was linked to poorer cognitive outcomes, with different work patterns affecting men and women differently.
The findings, from researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, add to growing evidence that our work histories may affect our brain health. In earlier studies, continuing participation in the labor force has been consistently linked to better cognitive health as we age, whereas not having a job or retiring have been tied to accelerated declines in memory and thinking skills.
Jobs, particularly those that are mentally challenging, are thought to help keep the brain stimulated. They also provide social interactions that also help to keep the brain in good working order. Having a steady income also helps to lessen stress over money matters, and ongoing stress in any form is thought to be bad for the long-term health of the brain.
For the new study, researchers analyzed 16 years of data from the Health and Retirement Study, a long-running examination of the health and lifestyle factors of a nationally representative sample of older Americans. They tracked the employment history of 2,418 middle-aged men and women from 1998 to 2014, examining their job status every few years as well as how often people changed jobs, moved in and out of work, how they felt about their jobs, and whether they left the work force or retired early.
In addition, the researchers had detailed information about participants’ cognitive health in their later years, including the results of tests that measured memory, executive function and other thinking skills and whether they went on to develop dementia or other serious memory problems. They also considered other factors that can affect brain health, including age, medical problems and education levels.
The analysis found that among women, early retirement and not participating in the labor force in midlife had the strongest associations with cognitive deficits in older age. Among men, inconsistent employment in midlife was the trajectory most consistently linked to poorer cognitive function in older age. The researchers estimated that these unstable or inconsistent work histories translated to roughly six to seven years of cognitive aging.
The researchers also looked at how people felt about their job security. Some earlier research has suggested that feeling insecure about losing a job could take a toll on brain function. But the study results indicated that a steady job history had a bigger protective impact on cognitive health overall.
“Interestingly, our results suggest that employment continuity, rather than subjective job security, may be the more protective factor for cognitive aging,” said study author Erika Beidelman, a postdoctoral research scientist at the Butler Columbia Aging Center. “Participants who maintained stable employment despite reporting persistent job insecurity did not exhibit cognitive deficits compared to stable, job-secure participants.”
“Employment continuity across midlife may represent a modifiable factor associated with cognition decades later,” Dr. Beidelman added. “Policies supporting sustained labor force attachment, reducing involuntary job transitions, and expanding access to cognitively engaging employment throughout midlife may help promote healthier cognitive aging.”
The findings, published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia, underscore the important role that work may play in our long-term brain health. While most of us don’t have total control over our jobs or work histories, experts agree that we should strive to cultivate the kinds of mental stimulation and social interactions that jobs can provide, regardless of our employment status. Stay mentally engaged through activities like reading, learning a new language or solving puzzles or word games. Stay socially connected by reaching out to friends or neighbors, taking a class or volunteering in your community. All these activities can be enjoyable, and they may help to keep you mentally sharp into old age.
By ALZinfo.org, The Alzheimer’s Information Site. Reviewed by Eric Schmidt, PhD, of The Fisher Center lab at The Rockefeller University.
Source: Erika T. Beidelman, Xuexin Yu, Constance Beaufils, et al: “Trajectories of late-life job insecurity and labor force participation: Associations with cognitive function and impairment in the Health and Retirement Study's harmonized cognitive assessment protocol.” Alzheimer’s and Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association. September 23, 2026. Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.
