Resit to save your sanity

No doubt this study is far more complex (and flawed) than the popular media are claiming, but this time I'll take the headlines: the longer you spend in education, the more likely it is that you'll avoid or delay the onset of dementia.

These findings published in the Advanced Access online edition of the journal Brain on July 26 confirm a decade of past studies that have also concluded more schooling equals a decreased risk of suffering from dementia, defined as the "loss of intellectual functions" including memory, orientation, calculation, language, attention and thinking.

According to a July 24 University of Cambridge announcement, "each additional year of education" decreases your risk of developing dementia by 11 percent.

Brilliant. I did four degrees, and took my time doing them - BA in three years, MA over two, PhD over a rather longer period (I was teaching, OK?) and a PGCE. And, of course, I work in education.

The alternative answer is that we all have heart attacks from stress, smoking and alcohol abuse before dementia gets its chance…

For the rest of you - either fail and repeat a few years at university, or get back to school!