Researchers examined 9 million U.S. death certificates from 2020 to 2022 and found that taxi and ambulance drivers had the lowest Alzheimer’s disease mortality among 443 occupations. After adjusting for age, sex, race, ethnicity and education, about 1 in 100 drivers died of Alzheimer’s, compared with 1 in 60 people overall. The association was specific to jobs requiring continuous real‑time navigation; bus drivers and aircraft pilots showed no similar risk reduction. The study linked the effect to activity in the hippocampus, a brain region early affected by Alzheimer’s. A 2000 study of London taxi drivers found increased gray matter in the posterior hippocampus, with volume growing proportionally to years of driving experience, indicating brain changes from navigational practice. Additional research showed that residents of neighborhoods with high spatial complexity have lower Alzheimer’s incidence, likely because complex environments promote cognitive map formation. While the studies focus on occupational and residential spatial demand, they suggest that sustained mental navigation may strengthen brain circuits that Alzheimer’s targets. Experts note that spatial reasoning training, including GIS and remote sensing, is widely available and may contribute to cognitive health.