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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 That wisdom might be doubly appreciated by co-workers, even younger ones, in our shaky economy, he said. Older workers, after all, have been through several recessions. "That stability of wisdom, of living through it [before], can be the most important of all," he said.
Joy L. Taylor, an associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Stanford University, stressed that keeping skills sharp can make a difference in on-the-job performance. She studied 118 noncommercial pilots, age 40 to 69, to determine how age affects cognitive performance in the real world.
She did the study as the Federal Aviation Administration was proposing that the mandatory retirement age for commercial airline pilots be raised from 60 to 65, which was later signed into law.
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Though she did find that the older pilots, those 60 to 69 years of age, initially performed worse than the younger pilots, she also found that the older pilots showed less of a decrease in their overall flight summary scores. And over time, they improved more on their "traffic avoidance" performances than did the younger pilots.
The study was published in the journal Neurology, accompanied by an editorial co-authored by Sirven.
Now, Taylor and her team are studying whether extra training for pilots helps them overcome age-related changes in motor performance skills they need, such as flying in a holding pattern.
So, how to best ensure that you can work longer than average, if you have to or want to?
Try constantly to learn new skills, Sirven suggested. "Pick up a new language, learn a new instrument," he said. "Give yourself a push to try something new."
And Taylor had additional ideas. "Keep your work-related skills, exercise, and eat the best diet, a heart-healthy diet," she said. "Our emphasis is on physical health as well as cognitive health and stimulation -- both being equally important."
More information
To learn more about work-related issues for older Americans, visit AARP.
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