You did everything “right”. College. Internship. Job. And now, after decades of working hard for the same company, you can retire. Whether it is with a pension, 401(k), Roth IRA, or Social Security, you have finally reached the age and the income that makes everything you worked for and all of your sacrifices worthwhile to enjoy your golden years while you still can.
Your first priority is to do whatever you want, which, for a change, is nothing resembling work. So, you stay up late and get up late. You binge-watch TV and shop on the internet. You have groceries and meals delivered. And perhaps you even follow the latest influencers and keep in touch with all the latest “info-tainment” on social media for passive fun.
Then one day, you start your day as usual with the full force of retired freedom and feel something is different. Sleeping late, TV, the internet, and even door-to-door delivery no longer hold their magic as treats when it comes to ongoing satisfaction. Filling the rest of seemingly endless days feels like unfulfilling emptiness, with each free day spent like every other retired day before it. You find out that “fully” retired is not all it’s cracked up to be. You miss the purpose, people, and your former determination and drive that you exchanged for a competitive salary. You wonder: Is this it?
According to the experts, there are risks of “full retirement,” that is, stopping work and doing nothing. It impacts brain health and longevity. What many people think is their long-awaited ideal – full retirement – could do them more harm than good. If you want to maintain your purpose, social connection, and mental stimulation, full retirement will have you moving down the wrong path. Without these three factors, fully retiring increases cognitive decline, risk of dementia, and reduces longevity.
The solution? Choose to continue to work. Seek out a job or even a second career that has less stress but keeps your social networks active. Work helps you to have a longer and healthier life. Let’s explore: the risks of retirement, the benefits of continued engagement, and tips for a healthier retirement.
RELATED: Keep it Moving! 10 Exciting Ways to Stay Active During Retirement
The risks of full retirement
- Cognitive decline. The cognitive decline struggle is real. The fully retired can experience a drop in cognitive function. This is true especially in verbal memory. No daily structure and mental challenges impact the brain.
- What you lose. Full retirement also leads to less of a sense of purpose and more isolation. Depression is also possible.
- Mental stimulation and brain health. Working involves mental stimulation that helps preserve brain health. Without the constant engagement and demands of a job, cognitive skills can decline.
The benefits of continued engagement
- Work longer. If you have a role that keeps your brain active and sharp, such as those involving professions that require problem-solving and complex tasks. This will help you maintain brain health.
- Avoid feeling worthless. Work prevents feelings of worthlessness. By offering a structured environment for social interaction and a sense of purpose, such engagement is crucially important for healthy aging.
- Longevity. During retirement, life expectancy increases according to the experts if you don’t “fully” retire. This could be because when one continues to work, cognitive function, social engagement, and a routine continue.
Tips for a healthier retirement
- Don’t stop working when you retire. A less demanding job, working part-time, or even a volunteer role can all help retirees maintain structure and engagement.
- Stay mentally active. Keep mentally active with lifelong learning, hobbies, and even language learning or playing a challenging game like bridge, chess, or working on crossword puzzles.
- Make social activities a priority. Connect with friends, family, and community, such as neighbors and other retired senior citizens, so that you don’t socially isolate.
Design a new view of what retirement can mean for you. Keeping active and involved with the world you live in is good for your brain health and your human spirit, too. People weren’t made to exist as separate, in a vacuum, or apart from society. With full retirement, you may be withdrawing from the cognitive engagement and sense of purpose the work world can offer. This can happen when you’ve contributed significantly and possess the skills and wisdom that should be shared to benefit others.
If you are close to retiring, recently retired, or considering how to fill your time with your newfound freedom, reflect, select, and then engage.
Reflect.
Take an inventory of what you might enjoy doing that would be interesting, build on your skill sets, and allow you to follow dreams that you may not have been able to do while you were working in the job you retired from. List barriers to participation (the need for more education, health concerns, financial constraints, transportation limitations, etc.) and benefits for continued growth.
RELATED: The Basics of Planning for Your Retirement
Select.
Once you have narrowed your choices down, select one opportunity or a few, depending on how busy you want to be. Decide what your expectations are and how long or how much you want to participate. Are you searching for a second career, a way to earn a little pocket money, or a reason to get up and get out of the house for a few hours a day or a couple of times a week? Do you need constant praise, or do you want to be part of a team so you can socialize? Will it be a chance to fulfill a lifelong dream? Should it be fast-paced and demanding, or do you want to do something where you work independently and behind the scenes to keep mentally active but have low stress? Lastly, consider whether the opportunity, the project, or the job should be long-term or temporary. Be honest with yourself and realistic with your goals and expectations.
Engage.
There’s a whole world that needs you. Your unique and valuable self may be fully retired, but you have a lot of living and giving left in you. To stay active and purposeful, you also need the world to make a meaningful contribution that matters. Your participation in things that interest you can positively impact your brain health and more. Full retirement can enable you to have the means to give of yourself. You decide who you want to be to fill the days or the decades. So, write a new chapter, but don’t make it the conclusion. Redefine yourself. It is not the time to shut down. Stay open and aware, ready to explore new opportunities until you discover the ones that best suit you and your life experiences.
