Grandparents love is priceless, nothing can be more precious than the love we get from our grandparents.
They are a first friend, guide and many more. They live their childhood again with their grandchildren.
According to a new study, it proves that grandparents who babysit grandkids live longer.
Taking care of kids keeps them physically active and helps relieve stress, but overdoing it can cross a line and cancel out those health benefits, the study states.
“You want to make sure that you find that right balance where you are doing what you can to stay active, doing good for the folks that you’re helping out with, but don’t do too much where you get to the point where you’re overly stressed,” Dr. Ronan Factora of the Cleveland Clinic said.
Another benefit is the social interaction that helps keep the brain healthy.
And on the flip side, spending time with grandma and grandpa is also great for kids. It gives them extra stability and emotional support.
The study examined data from the Berlin Aging Study from over 500 seniors aged 70 and older. Grandparents who were primary caregivers for grandchildren were not included in the study.
The data found that seniors who provided some care, whether for their grandchildren or for others, had a lower risk of death over a 20 year period than those who did not help others. The mortality hazards for grandparents who provided non-custodial child care were 37 percent lower than for grandparents who did not provide childcare and for non-grandparents.
“There is a link between providing this care and reducing stress and we know the relationship between stress and a higher risk of dying,” said Dr. Ronan Factora, a Geriatric Medicine specialist at the Cleveland Clinic, via clevelandclinic.org, “If providing care to grandchildren and others in need is one way that can actually reduce stress, then these activities should be of benefit to folks who are grandparents and provide this care to their grandkids.”
Again, it does not matter if it’s your own grandkids or someone else’s, the act of caring for another holds many health benefits.