How being poor damages your brain, new study finds

Representative image generated using AI How much money do you have? Before you argue that your bank account is your business, hear this out. We are not asking you the question; your brain is! Your brain has been keeping tabs on your financial struggles for longer than you would expect, and it is not happy about them. British scientists have now found that chronic money worries are not just draining your bank account; they are actually shrinking your brain.A new study led by University College London (UCL) researchers found that persistent financial problems can cause long-term damage to your brain. The findings of the study are published in the journal Innovation in Aging.Your money is not just your businessUCL scientists spent decades following thousands of Britons, tracking their financial worry levels from young adulthood through to their 70s. What they found is striking: your wallet and your brain are connected in ways you probably did not expect. They found that persistent financial problems accelerated age-related cognitive decline.People who spent years struggling to pay bills did not just feel stressed. By the time they reached their 70s, their brains had physically aged fa...