Babysitting grandkids can ward off Alzheimer’s
Good news for grandmothers! A new study finds grandchildren not only add joy to grandparents’ lives but that spending time with grandkids can ward off Alzheimer’s.
The study, published in the journal Menopause, found post-menopausal women who spend time taking care of grandkids lower their risk of developing Alzheimer's and other cognitive disorders. However, too much time with the grandchildren – five or more days a week – wasn’t so good for grandma.
Researchers for Women’s Health Ageing Project in Australia administered three different tests to assess the cognitive abilities of 186 women, ages 57 to 68. Among the group, 120 were grandmothers. The study found that grandmothers who helped with their grandchildren at least one day per week scored highest on the tests, while the women who spent five or more days a week with their grandkids scored significantly lower.
Researchers found that grandmothers who helped out more often felt their own children – the parents of the grandkids – were too demanding on their time which dampened moods and impacted brain function.
“The motivation of the present study was to expand on the current literature by examining the impact of grandparenting on cognitive function," the authors write in the new study. “To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the relationship between grandparenting and cognition.”
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