Want Health in Old Age? Work for It

NPR reports on a major health study that finds better health outcomes for people who work in their 60s and 70s. The article features Michael Doucleff, who owns and operates a donut and coffee shop (what better place to meet people?). For 45 years, he has been waking up at 2 a.m. to make sure his donuts and pastries are ready by 6 a.m. Now 70, he is working hard— more than 40 hours a week—and he still carries 50-pound bags of flour upstairs from the basement. "You've got to wake up sometime in the morning — might as well have a purpose," Doucleff says. "I think I still contribute to society. For me, that's enjoyable." The study finds that “employed older adults had better health outcomes than unemployed older adults. Physically demanding occupations had the lowest risk of poor health outcomes, suggesting a stronger healthy worker effect: service workers were at lowest risk of multiple functional limitations; and blue-collar workers were at lowest risk of multimorbidity and multiple functional limitation. Hugs to Sarah for sharing this story (click here).