Complex jobs that require a lot of difficult analysis or social interaction such as management and teaching may protect the brain from mental decline, according to a new research.

People whose jobs require more complex work with other people, such as social workers and lawyers, or with data, like architects or graphic designers, reportedly may end up having longer-lasting memory and thinking abilities compared to people who do less complex work, researchers said.

For the study, 1,066 Scottish people with an average age of 70 had their memory and thinking abilities tested at the University of Edinburgh.

The tests looked at memory, processing speed and general thinking ability. Researchers also gathered information about the jobs participants held.
The study was published in the journal of the American Academy of Neurology.