Aging Workforce and Wellness

Okay, some unsettling news for those of us who have had a lot of birthdays:

The unhappy medical fact is that as people age, their brains shrink, affecting their ability to learn and their memory. Yet many baby boomers expect to keep on working past retirement age.

According to a recent report in the Wall Street Journal, concentration and the ability to make memories are among the skills that almost all of us lose as we age. We are more easily distracted.

The good news for people and corporate wellness programs is that eating well and physical exercise can sustain mental function, according to new research.

"With the right kind of training, we can take an older mind and make it younger," says neurologist Adam Gazzaley at the University of California at San Francisco.

There is more good news. People with active socials lives also appear to slow the rate at which their memory fails, according to researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health.

According to a study published in the Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Science, age 70 is the new 57. Researchers found that older people typically feel 13 years younger than they really are.

What does this mean for wellness professionals? That there are plenty of opportunities to help baby boomers eat well, exercise better and have active social lives that will pay off not only for their personal health, but for their productivity as well.

Besides, all these studies miss an important point: I'd certainly like to think, as I get older, that wisdom and experience count for something. I'm sure plenty of baby boomers agree.