My sister-in-law recently became a grandparent, twice over. Now, whenever we talk, she raves about how wonderful it is to spend time with her grandchildren, watching them grow. The experience has added a new sense of meaning to her life, and she is thoroughly enjoying it.
Beyond the simple joys of grandparenting, a new study finds that being an engaged grandmother may also be helping protect her from cognitive decline.
In this study, researchers pulled data from almost 10,000 grandparents who were part of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (and didn’t live with their grandchildren). Three times in six years, the grandparents were asked if they’d looked after their grandchildren without the child’s parents being present over the prior two years. If they had, they also reported on how often they provided care, under what circumstances (e.g., during school holidays, weekends, weekdays, or throughout the year), and what kinds of activities they did with their grandchildren (e.g., caring for them when ill, engaging in play or leisure activities, or picking up or dropping them off at school).
At each time point, grandparents also underwent cognitive testing that included a verbal fluency test (how many animals they could think of within a minute) and an episodic memory test (how many words they could recall from a list, both immediately after hearing them read out loud and after a five-minute delay).
Having a large group allowed researchers to compare caregiving and non-caregiving grandparents on cognition. After ruling out other differences in the two groups that could influence their caregiving status or cognition—e.g., their age, number of children and grandchildren, education, physical limitations, or depression—the researchers found that caregiving grandparents had greater cognitive strength at all three assessment points than matched non-caregiving grandparents.
Why would this be? According to lead researcher Flavia Chereches of Tilburg University, this finding is not too surprising, as it reflects a larger body of research on the role of grandparenting in healthy aging.
“We know that staying active as we get older is good, by moving our bodies and by engaging in cognitive-stimulating activities,” she says. “Grandchild care can offer older adults opportunities for such activities.”
Not only that, happiness may play a role in these findings, too, she adds. While she and her team couldn’t assess how much grandparents actually enjoyed caring for their grandchildren from the data they had, other studies have found that positive emotion and better cognition go hand in hand. Also, caring for a grandchild can bring grandparents a sense of meaning and purpose—both known for helping us age well.
“Research shows that having a sense of meaning and purpose is linked to better cognitive and overall health. If grandparents perceive caregiving as meaningful and fulfilling, that may help explain some of the benefits,” she says.
Even a little caregiving is good
Chereches also looked more granularly at the types and frequency of caregiving activities that grandparents were engaged in. Her analyses showed that neither mattered much to the outcome; any amount or type of caregiving was tied to better cognition at a given time.
However, when considering whether caregiving prevented cognitive decline over time, only grandmothers who provided care were protected in comparison to other grandparents. Grandfathers were not.
While unsure why, Chereches speculates that it could be a reflection on how caregiving activities may not be the same for both genders and, therefore, not provide the same benefits.
“Past research suggests that grandmothers often coordinate caregiving, making plans for how caregiving would look, while also performing more hands-on care—for example, cooking for the grandchild,” she says. “Grandfathers often take on a more supportive and recreational role.”
It’s also possible grandfathers consider caregiving to be more of an obligation rather than freely chosen, she adds. Or perhaps it’s more stressful for them or interferes with other things they’d prefer to do.
“What feels manageable and meaningful for one person may feel overwhelming for another,” says Chereches. “When caregiving becomes more of a source of strain rather than fulfillment, we would not expect positive effects,” she adds.
Caregiving may improve cognition, but it’s not the only way
Chereches is careful to say that no grandparent should feel badly if taking care of a grandchild is not for them. Caregiving is a complex task, she says, and some people benefit more than others. Some grandparents may live far away from their grandchildren, too, making it nearly impossible to step in. Or they may simply prefer to spend their time other ways.
But her results do suggest a hidden benefit for grandparents who choose to spend time with their grandchildren. It’s likely to improve their cognition and, in some cases, protect them from cognitive decline.
That’s nice to know. If you care for grandchildren, not only will you be creating a relationship with them, you will be helping yourself stay fitter in life—and not just cognitively. Caregiving can also provide greater social connection and physical activity, too.
“For grandparents who enjoy providing care, staying involved with grandchildren may be a meaningful and engaging way to remain active in later life,” says Chereches.
No doubt, my sister-in-law would wholeheartedly agree.
Comments