If you do a job that involves lots of one thing - you won’t want to be doing it in your home time as a pastime.
Work on a computer in an office? - You might have a playstation, but not a gamer PC.
Drive a lot at work? - You’ll find driving at home (Eg. going shopping) mind-numbingly boring. “Busman’s Holidays” even more so. Not everyone has another half they can get to “share the driving with” during those boring holiday motorway drives either.
I argue that it is in fact Boredom rather than driving that makes one start to “lose intelligence” then.
Boredom also puts one at higher risk of falling asleep as well of course.
It’s more difficult to think straight when tired…
We’ve heard medical opinion suggest that long term night driving is bad for one’s health. Well that might be true if you’ve got a load of people burning the candle at both ends by being up all day long doing normal day chores at home, and then wondering why you’re yawning your head off by midnight on a night shift depot-depot trunk. FFS there’s plenty of destination hubs these days where you can get your head down if you’re THAT tired - but we’re talking about falling asleep at the wheel on the way UP there.
Deal with the tiredness by getting proper daily rest, and taking it easy on the home front.
Plan a night shift so that you’ve been up either 8 or 16 hours by the time you get your shuteye opportunity on whatever duty you are doing.
If you go outside these windows, you’ll be wide awake during sleep break, and then your over-active mind will be obliged to go and bend some ears in the RDC waiting room. Not good for anyone concerned - right?
It’s possible to be smart and not have an over-active mind at certain times of the day and night.
It’s possible to be smart and go senile.
I’ve yet to see any permanently over-active minds go senile though. I certainly don’t expect to be losing my marbles any time soon. Stroke or Heart Attack is the way I expect to be popping my clogs - something that cuts me down, rather than has me fading away.
Watch carefully those people you know who’ve recently retired… The ones buggering about in the garden - and nothing else - during their “retirement” stand a far greater chance of dementia than those who say, tinker with cars, travel around the world, or take up any strenuous hobbies. Keeping one’s mind fit is as important as keeping the body going - right?
If you’ve got a weak heart/lungs then I would also argue that one should ditch the strenuous exercise, and concentrate on cerebral fitness. Don’t leave it so late that one finds out the hard way. We can’t ask people like Robin Cook, Adam Faith, or Rick Mayall more about their lifestyle choices, alas. They all seemed “Fit and active” though, - and of above average intelligence.
KTMrider:
“Cognitive skills were boosted in people who used computers up to two to three hours a day,” he said. “When watching TV, your brain is less active but using a computer is stimulating.”
Ah, so watching endless cat videos on youtube makes you more intelligent, whereas watching Question Time on TV makes you more stoopid 
Watching TV on a computer - isn’t really “using a computer” though, huh?
I like Cat videos as much as anyone. I can’t watch many though, before I’m falling asleep. It’s a great way to wind down for sure - but not a good thing to watch over Breakfast!
My daughter designs memes and clip art - to let off steam with her over-active mind.
Me? Everyone knows how I let off steam - writing all those political treatises that I have a habit of doing. Also, I suspect very few other drivers out there post much in their home time as I do. I don’t use Twitter, because I’ve never got “that little” to say. 
I’ve done 1hr 49 better stop driving for today so I don’t end up like Dozy
Winseer:
If you do a job that involves lots of one thing - you won’t want to be doing it in your home time as a pastime.
Work on a computer in an office? - You might have a playstation, but not a gamer PC.
Drive a lot at work? - You’ll find driving at home (Eg. going shopping) mind-numbingly boring. “Busman’s Holidays” even more so. Not everyone has another half they can get to “share the driving with” during those boring holiday motorway drives either.
I argue that it is in fact Boredom rather than driving that makes one start to “lose intelligence” then.
Boredom also puts one at higher risk of falling asleep as well of course.
It’s more difficult to think straight when tired…
We’ve heard medical opinion suggest that long term night driving is bad for one’s health. Well that might be true if you’ve got a load of people burning the candle at both ends by being up all day long doing normal day chores at home, and then wondering why you’re yawning your head off by midnight on a night shift depot-depot trunk. FFS there’s plenty of destination hubs these days where you can get your head down if you’re THAT tired - but we’re talking about falling asleep at the wheel on the way UP there.
Deal with the tiredness by getting proper daily rest, and taking it easy on the home front.
Plan a night shift so that you’ve been up either 8 or 16 hours by the time you get your shuteye opportunity on whatever duty you are doing.
If you go outside these windows, you’ll be wide awake during sleep break, and then your over-active mind will be obliged to go and bend some ears in the RDC waiting room. Not good for anyone concerned - right?
It’s possible to be smart and not have an over-active mind at certain times of the day and night.
It’s possible to be smart and go senile.
I’ve yet to see any permanently over-active minds go senile though. I certainly don’t expect to be losing my marbles any time soon. Stroke or Heart Attack is the way I expect to be popping my clogs - something that cuts me down, rather than has me fading away.
Watch carefully those people you know who’ve recently retired… The ones buggering about in the garden - and nothing else - during their “retirement” stand a far greater chance of dementia than those who say, tinker with cars, travel around the world, or take up any strenuous hobbies. Keeping one’s mind fit is as important as keeping the body going - right?
If you’ve got a weak heart/lungs then I would also argue that one should ditch the strenuous exercise, and concentrate on cerebral fitness. Don’t leave it so late that one finds out the hard way. We can’t ask people like Robin Cook, Adam Faith, or Rick Mayall more about their lifestyle choices, alas. They all seemed “Fit and active” though, - and of above average intelligence.
I’d agree in that they are probably confusing boredom with driving.Which then raises the question that it’s more dumbed down driving standards that create boredom.However even then there’s probably a bigger link between sleep deprivation and dementia than boredom.
alumni.berkeley.edu/california- … s-it-makes
But that obviously doesn’t fit the establishment script either.In it wanting an over worked over stressed population starting the working day too early and finishing too late from early school age on.IE nothing whatsoever to do with driving a decent vehicle which needs plenty of human input using proper levels of alertness and attention for 5 hours without a break. 
No surprise that it would rather carry on with the same old selectively applied bs that’s all about painting road transport as being ‘bad’ in that regard.
