How Mentally Challenging Careers Can Influence Your Brain

Can a mentally challenging career really affect how your brain ages? Learn more about research suggesting complex jobs may benefit the brain.

April 26, 2025 · 1 min · 49 words · Jordan Mason

Could what you do for a living influence your mental acuity and acumen as you age?

American Academy of Neurology.From architect to social worker: complex jobs may protect memory and thinking.

Smart EL, Gow AJ, Deary IJ.Occupational complexity and lifetime cognitive abilities.Neurology.

Female doctor examining brain scan on digital tablet

Hero Images / Getty Images

2014;83(24):2285-91. doi:10.1212/WNL.0000000000001075