Being a grandparent is good for your brain and may stave off a decline in thinking skills and memory, research suggests.
A new study on adults in England found grandparents who provided care for their grandchildren tended to show better cognitive functioning than those who did not.
Grandmothers in particular, who typically provide more care than grandfathers, showed a slowing in cognitive decline.
The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (Elsa) is examining the health, social, well-being and economic circumstances of people aged 50 and older.
Researchers used Elsa data from 2,887 grandparents, who all answered a survey and completed cognitive tests three times between 2016 and 2022.
The survey asked whether people had provided care for a grandchild at any point in the past year and how often.
Grandparents also gave details of the kind of care they provided, such as having grandchildren overnight, caring for them when they are ill, playing with them or taking them places, helping with homework, driving grandchildren to school and activities, and preparing meals.
A verbal fluency test asked people to name as many animals as possible within one minute, while for memory, people were asked to recall 10 words immediately and then again after five minutes.
Grandparents who provided care for their grandchildren tended to show better cognitive functioning than those who did not
Overall, the study found that grandparents who provided childcare scored higher on tests of both memory and verbal fluency compared with those who did not, regardless of the amount of care given.
Grandmothers providing care also showed less cognitive decline over time.
The research, published in the journal Psychology and Aging, also found that those grandparents with initially higher cognitive levels were more engaged in specific activities with their grandchildren, such as assisting with homework.
They also took part in a wider variety of activities.
Lead researcher, Flavia Chereches, from Tilburg University in the Netherlands, said: ‘Many grandparents provide regular care for their grandchildren – care that supports families and society more broadly.
‘What stood out most to us was that being a caregiving grandparent seemed to matter more for cognitive functioning than how often grandparents provided care or what exactly they did with their grandchildren.
‘More research is needed to replicate these findings, yet, if there are benefits associated with caregiving for grandparents, they might not depend on how often care is provided, or on the specific activities done with grandchildren, but rather on the broader experience of being involved with caregiving.’
Ms Chereches also said further research should look at the wider family set-up.
‘Providing care voluntarily, within a supportive family environment, may have different effects for grandparents than caregiving in a more stressful environment where they feel unsupported or feel that the caregiving is not voluntary or a burden,’ she added.
