Your Incredibly Hard Job Could Have a Surprising Benefit for Your Health

By Shana Lebowitz

Days spent crunching numbers or reviewing manuscripts could drive you crazy — but could also protect you from cognitive decline later in life.

That's according to new research, which suggests jobs that involve certain kinds of challenging mental tasks can boost memory and thinking years down the road.

The study, led by Francisca Then, Ph.D., at the University of Leipzig in Germany, involved about 1,000 participants over age 75. Every 1.5 years for eight years, the researchers tested the participants' memory and cognitive ability.