According to the Herald Sun, new research found that grandparents who regularly look after their grandchildren live about 10 years longer than those who do not.
A study of more than 500 grandparents at Edith Cowan University found that grandparents who looked after their grandchildren lived about 10 years after the first interview, while those who did not care for their children died within five years.
David Coall, the study's author, said the study was based on data from Basel Berlin University's ageing study. Studies have shown that there is a positive link between caring for others and life expectancy. This is also true for those who take care of other family and community members.
Helping others was directly related to life expectancy, according to the health status of the subjects, who were between 70 and 79 years of age.
"older people who care for other adult children or community members are living longer," Coall said. Previous studies have shown that helping others acts as a stress buffer that strengthens human-to-human connections. This connection may be a mechanism deeply rooted in our past development, because helping to care for children was also an important part of the survival of human species in the past. Promoting mutual assistance within or outside the family may effectively promote healthy ageing and prolong life expectancy. "
But no matter what, you can't overdo it.
Other analyses by Coall's team found that grandparents can have negative physical and psychological effects if they take care of their children full-time.
"everyone has to decide for themselves what 'appropriate help' means, and you may be able to do something good for yourself and others as long as you don't feel pressured by the act of providing help."
Templestowe's 71-year-old grandmother, Shirley Sims, hopes to be a great grandmother for a long time.
"my name Gigi means great grandmother, too."
Sims regularly participates in sports and other activities of his two grandchildren (12-year-old Toby and 9-year-old Luke), as well as their cousins (18-year-old Samuel and 16-year-old Paris).
"I really like it, and it keeps me young. It's like going back to your youth, and it feels better. "
The study has recently been published in Australia.