{"id":4430,"date":"2023-11-06T05:03:15","date_gmt":"2023-11-06T04:03:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/?p=4430"},"modified":"2023-11-06T05:03:15","modified_gmt":"2023-11-06T04:03:15","slug":"new-research-states-babysitting-your-grandchildren-extends-your-life-expectancy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/?p=4430","title":{"rendered":"New research states: Babysitting your grandchildren extends your life expectancy"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you are parents and you feel a bit guilty when you ask your own parents to babysit after your children, then you can throw those feelings out the window!<\/p>\n

Apparently, grandparents who babysit their grandchildren live longer than those who don\u2019t, according to a recent study.<\/p>\n

The study, involving more than 500 participants aged 70 and over, showed that the grandparents who helped care for others lived at least 7 years longer than others.<\/p>\n

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The study was published in the magazine Evolution and Human Behavior.<\/p>\n

People who didn\u2019t care or babysit for others had an average life span of only 4 years after the study was completed. Half the grandparents in the study who did babysit for their grandchildren stayed alive for at least 10 years after the study was completed.<\/p>\n

The study claims that goal-setting for older people keeps them active.<\/p>\n

Survival of our species
\nAccording to Sonja Hilbrand, one of the research authors and a PhD graduate at the University of Basel\u2019s Psychology Department in Switzerland, \u201cBond can be a mechanism that is deeply rooted in our evolutionary past when helping with children was critical to the survival of our species.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe general health is adversely affected in people who have no close contact with their grandchildren\u201d, Hilbrand added.<\/p>\n

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When you help your older children, you also help yourself to live longer, the study shows. So, feeling that you\u2019re needed give you a purpose that benefits your health as you age.<\/p>\n

Bruno Arpino, a professor at Pompeo Fabra University in Barcelona, \u200b\u200bsaid it could maintain physical and mental health in the elderly population.<\/p>\n

\u201cCaring for others can give caregivers a purpose in life because they feel they are contributing to others and society\u201d, he said. \u201cCaring for others can also be an activity that keeps carers healthy physically and mentally.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mental health
\nHe added that previous researches have shown that cognitive functioning has improved in caregivers, as well as physical and mental health.<\/p>\n

The study did not include grandparents who have full custody of their grandchildren.<\/p>\n

So if you are a parent, find out more about why you should let your parents babysit your children in the video below:<\/p>\n