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Join today<\/a><\/p>\n \n Already a member? Some 1.7 million Americans<\/a> retire<\/a> each year, transitioning from the workforce to live off federal benefits<\/a>, pensions and savings<\/a>.<\/p>\n Retirement offers those typically ages 62 and up a chance to spend more time with loved ones, take up hobbies<\/a> without the pressures of work and travel.<\/p>\n But is this practice beneficial for their overall health?<\/p>\n Experts say that depends on how people live during retirement – and their past health history.<\/p>\n \u201cYour life after retirement already started when you were a baby,\u201d Baowen Xue, an associate professor at University College London, told The New York Times<\/a> on Friday. <\/p>\n Improved diet, sleep and fitness<\/p>\n Retirement gives people time to improve certain areas of their life, like fitness, diet and sleep habits, researchers at the University of Sydney found in a 2016 study<\/a>. <\/p>\n It can be easier to develop and maintain an exercise routine and unemployment can help people make more mindful food choices.<\/p>\n \u201cRetirement provides increased time to prepare healthy meals and maintain a healthy diet, increased time to spend engaging in physical activity and increased time to spend engaging in socially healthy activities,\u201d Dr. Amanda Sonnega, a University of Michigan researcher, previously told the BBC\u2019s Science Focus<\/a>.<\/p>\n A stronger social life<\/p>\n Retirement also gives people time to strengthen connections with families and friends, as well as within their communities.<\/p>\n Some people may gain the freedom to move to some place<\/a> they could improve their social lives.<\/p>\n And it can give people an opportunity to do things they\u2019ve always wanted to try, like go on a cruise or take up knitting.<\/p>\n All of this can strengthen both mental and physical health.<\/p>\n Retirees who remain engaged socially often experience slowed biological aging, Dr. Zaldy Tan, medical director of the Jona Goldrich Center for Alzheimer\u2019s and Memory Disorders at the Los Angeles-based Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, explained in a statement<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cRetirement from work is not retirement from life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Increased disease risk<\/p>\n On the flip side, people who spend their retirement largely alone and not engaged in activity may see their health decline in retirement.<\/p>\n Over a dozen studies<\/a> conducted over the past decade show how retirement can leave people at a heightened risk of depression<\/a> and a higher risk of disease.<\/p>\n The later people retire, the higher the risk of health problems in retirement, too, according to researchers at VU Amsterdam<\/a> in the Netherlands. <\/p>\n That\u2019s because the risk of disease increases as we age.<\/p>\n A return to work<\/p>\n Even with health benefits, retirement just isn\u2019t for everyone. <\/p>\n Some people might go back to work if they enjoy it or think they need the socialization, mental stimulation or money – despite health benefits from retirement or even at risk to their health.<\/p>\n Although working later in life has also been tied to better health as people age, Harvard Medical School<\/a> says. <\/p>\n \u201cWork is sometimes seen as negative,\u201d Tan said. \u201cBut we shouldn\u2019t look at work as evil and vacation or retirement as good. It\u2019s really what you make of both situations.\u201d<\/p>\n No size fits all<\/p>\n At the end of the day, there\u2019s no \u201cone-size-fits-all\u201d retirement. The choices you make now and during retirement define your health – as well as factors outside of your control.<\/p>\n
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More than a million Americans retire each year. But whether retirement can improve their health is up to them, experts say (Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"Retirement](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/GettyImages-130994307.jpeg\")
Retirement can help people pick up new hobbies and strengthen connections within their communities (AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n