Is retirement good for your health?

Dr.Robin Mjasiri

IN considering our passions, I must say that one of my passions has been the writing of Jaffar Mjasiri, early retiring staff member at the Daily News. It is in tribute to his keen insight, wonderful humor and laser focus on cutting edge topics that I challenge him to go off into retirement with gusto, his famous great sense of humor and good will and many well wishes.

The Retirement Question

For us all, the question is still out there waiting to be answered. Is retirement good for one’s health? According to one study done at the University of Sydney, it is a resounding

YES! This study published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine, followed the lifestyle behaviors of 25,000 older Australians including physical activity, diet, sedentary behavior, alcohol use and sleep patterns.

‘Our research revealed that retirement was associated with positive lifestyle changes,’ said lead researcher Dr. Melody Ding, Senior Research Fellow at the University’s School of Public Health. ‘Compared with people who were still working, retirees had increased physically activity levels, reduced sitting time, were less likely to smoke, and had healthier sleep patterns.’

‘A major life change like retirement creates a great window of opportunity to make positive lifestyle changes -- it’s a chance to get rid of bad routines and engineer new, healthier behaviors’ she said.

Think About It

Even while others are touting the success of this retirement study, one needs to keep in mind that it can be different for each person. For some, it may feel like life is an unstructured, scary proposition. If people have not given it thought or have a plan, without forward movement, it becomes terrifying to think of what they would do each day, when patterns and daily routines are not in place, or as a result of retirement, these activities change.

This can almost lead to anxiety about one’s retirement, which could be detrimental.

Mixed Bag

For years, researchers have been trying to figure out whether the act of retiring, or retirement itself, is good for health, bad for it, or neutral. Findings from researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health weighed in on this question in 2012. They drew their conclusions from the biological effects of retirement.

In other words, they looked at rates of heart attack and stroke among men and women in the ongoing U.S. Health and Retirement Study. Among 5,422 individuals in the study, those who had retired were 40% more likely to have had a heart attack or stroke than those who were still working. The increase was more pronounced during the first year after retirement, and leveled off after that.

The results, reported in the journal Social Science & Medicine, are in line with earlier studies that have shown that retirement is associated with a decline in health. But others have shown that retirement is associated with improvements in health, while some have shown it has little effect on health.

It’s Depends on You

Others say it’s all about how you choose to spend your time in retirement, whether it’s joining a club to keep yourself in a routine or joining an exercise class to stay socially connected.

But one thing is for certain — before you retire, it’s important to plan how you’ll distribute your extra free time in meaningful, engaging and healthy ways.

It’s a Journey

According to the Harvard researchers, one has to be prepared because it is not just a one time activity, like life, it is a journey or new life process that one undertakes as one retires. This means that some handle it smoothly and settle in, and some won’t but it is a new stage in life.

It does not just start and stop, it keeps going.

Some Tips to Help Make the Transition and “Journey” Smoothly.

When researchers from the same Harvard study asked participants, 80 and older what made retirements enjoyable, healthy, and rewarding, four key elements emerged: (1) Forge a new social network. You don’t just retire from a job—your retire from daily contact with friends and colleagues.

Establishing a new social network is good for both mental and physical health. (2) Play. Activities such as golf, bridge, ballroom dancing, traveling, and more can help you let go a bit while establishing new friendships and reinforcing old ones. (3) Be creative.

Activating your creative side can help keep your brain healthy. Creativity can take many forms, from painting to gardening to teaching a child noun declensions in Latin. Tapping into creativity may also help you discover new parts of yourself.

(4) Keep learning. Like being creative, ongoing learning keeps the mind active and the brain healthy. There are many ways to keep learning, from taking up a new language to starting—or returning to—an instrument you love, or exploring a subject that fascinates you.

Your Health Matters Again, go into retirement with a positive attitude and a plan.

It is a wonderful, new phase in life and one that can lead to happily ever after, at least this is what is wished for Jaffar. The first thing is to think of your health, physical and mental. Make sure that things are done to encourage overall well being. Remember being physically, mentally, socially and economically fit are good for your health and your health matters, especially on this new journey.