Trevor Laffan: I'm doomed for retiring early..and I don't sleep enough

I wrote a piece a few weeks ago about the importance of being positive in our daily lives.

This is the case especially as we get older because negativity can drag us down and make us miserable.

Unusually, it seems a lot of you agreed with me judging by the positive feedback I received, which was a novel experience for me. Agreement, I mean.

Unfortunately, a scientist has poured some cold water on my recipe for a healthy retirement. He says it’s important for people to keep working as long as possible, and explains that an OECD study raised questions about diminishing brain function for people who retire in their 50s. “You’re losing cognitive function by retiring,” he warned.

That’s me goosed. I retired at 57 so maybe my enthusiasm for life is misguided and my future might not be so bright after all.

Not only am I doomed for retiring early, but I also sleep about six hours a night and another scientist has said if we’re not getting between seven and nine hours of good quality sleep a night, we are increasing the risk of poor health in later life.

Let’s deal with early retirement first. I came across an article in the Irish Examiner and in it, Professor Ian Robertson, a fellow emeritus of psychology at Trinity College Dublin Institute of Neuroscience, said he believes many people become less active as they age because of old-fashioned ideas about ageing.

He did seem to agree with my opinion on the importance of positivity though. He said some “highly inaccurate and out-of-date mental models that we have of our ageing” can have a real impact on how our minds age.

He highlighted an Irish study which compared people over 50 who believed negative ideas about ageing, against people with positive ideas.

“They found that people with negative expectations of ageing over the next two years walked significantly slower two years later, showed a significant reduction in cognitive flexibility, and had a slight decrease in their social activity,” he said.

His advice for retirees is to keep trying new activities to stimulate the brain, including joining a charity committee or doing other voluntary work.

Referring to how the brain functions, he said: “This engagement with the world and the demands that the world makes on these networks in your brain actually reinforces these superhighways in the brain.”

I would offer a word of caution here though. In my experience, working with committees can often be anything but stimulating. Especially in Ireland where the first item on the agenda is usually the split. Stress is never too far away when trying to get consensus on a divisive issue.

As for poor sleep, well, we should avoid it. That’s not always possible though because factors such as medications, medical conditions, mental health disorders, and pain affect sleep quality.

Sleepfoundation.org suggests most healthy adults need between seven and nine hours of sleep each night. Infants, young children, and teenagers should get more to support their growth and development.

Sleep isn’t a luxury; it’s a biological necessity.

So that creates a second issue for me because I sleep about six hours a night and that includes a couple of breaks to visit the bathroom.

It doesn’t bother me because I feel fine in the morning, but the experts say getting less than seven hours has been linked to a weakened immune system, reduced job performance, and a heightened risk of accidents.

It’s also associated with serious health issues, including high blood pressure, heart disease, weight gain, obesity, diabetes, and depression.

Tips for sleeping better include avoiding caffeine for 10 hours before bedtime, and avoiding alcohol or eating for three hours before going to bed. You should also stop all screen time, including with your TV or phone, for an hour before bedtime.

However, too much sleep can also be bad for you.

Researchers now say that consistently sleeping for longer than nine hours a night can fuel brain ageing that leads to memory problems in later life.

And that’s not all. A leading longevity expert has gone one step further, telling MailOnline that scientists found that, up until the age of around 70, most people are able to make new blood cells, which are vital for supplying the body with oxygen. But after 70, our blood cell count drops significantly, raising the risk of anaemia, immune disorders, and cancer.

That’s because red blood cells are responsible for carrying oxygen around the body.

Fewer blood cells means less oxygen and nutrients are being delivered to our internal organs and skin, and this causes poor tissue regeneration - triggering visible signs of ageing, like loose, papery, sallow skin and deep facial wrinkles.

His suggestion is to incorporate movement and exercise throughout the day.

It has long been thought that those who get up and move more tend to live longer than those who lead a more sedentary lifestyle.

People should aim for a ‘brisk 30-minute walk five days a week’, to ward off cognitive decline.

The longevity expert added that exercise also helps preserve volume in the part of the brain linked to thinking and memory.

So, the long and the short of it is, if you want to live to a ripe old age with all your faculties in working order, you need to avoid early retirement and keep working until you’re forcibly removed from the workplace.

Then get involved in a few committees to keep your mind occupied, but avoid the stress that goes with that.

Get plenty of sleep because that’s good for you, but not too much because that’s bad.

Get out and exercise, or you won’t get enough oxygen to the brain and that’s bad, and you’ll end up with deep wrinkles and papery skin which isn’t good either.

It’s not as easy as I thought to stay positive.