According to a recent study, grandparents who care for grandchildren are more likely to live longer than other elderly people by helping their children with their children. To age well you want to stay physically active, socially engaged and cognitively stimulated. That’s why caring for grandchildren can be an ideal activity to keep young despite the passing of years. We talk about this topic with Dr. Katia Rastelli, psychologist at Humanitas.

The study on aging completed in Berlin

Researchers reviewed data from over 500 people aged 70 and over, and found that older people who care both for their grandchildren and others, had lowered their mortality rates for 20 years compared to those who did not help others.

The crux of the matter is to be found in the ability to reduce stress that is linked to all altruistic activities including taking care of others. Taking care of the youngest ones also requires a certain mobility that engages not only the mind but also the body, which in this way keeps itself younger.

“If we add the fact that communication exchanges, comparison and reflection are necessary to maintain the higher cognitive functions (attention, concentration, memory, problem solving), the advice we can give is to spend as much time as possible in the company of pleasant people. Keeping active in social exchanges also implies two fundamental concepts:

Self-efficacy, i.e. perception, the idea I have of being good and capable of doing things, and self-esteem, or the value I give to myself. These are two closely related concepts.

If I feel useful, valid, if I can help with my skills and abilities but especially if someone appreciates me, I will keep a good idea of me, despite the years that are moving forward and the aches that are felt. So let us welcome that wonderful exchange between grandparents and grandchildren, which, besides being an undoubted economic and social resource to support families, allows children to learn new things and keeps grandparents active and able to participate through the generational transition”.

Social interaction is the secret of a healthy brain

Social interaction keeps the brain active. The results of the study published in Evolution and Human Behavior state that older people who find themselves without relatives but volunteer have the same benefits.

The important thing, in short, is to help others, but without overdoing it: the intense emotional involvement, if excessive, leads to the opposite result. Altruism, besides connecting positively with others and giving value to our lives, also allows us not to think too much about our personal problems, shifting our attention and thus obtaining a more balanced point of view on the events that concern us more closely.

“Certainly altruism, even and especially in difficult times and times of greater individual stress (the elderly age is one of these) assumes an important value – added the specialist: it makes us feel useful, gives value to our lives, allows us to think less about our problems but also to confront ourselves and others to develop new strategies for solving problems, takes away from isolation, allows us to share thoughts and emotions. We help others but others also give something to us: gratitude, perhaps even affection and this makes our lives worthwhile, even when we seem to forget about it”.

“But be careful with the right measure – concludes Dr. Rastelli. Being too altruistic, such as being too available to others, leads to excessive stress, resulting in suppressed anger because you never have time for yourself and your needs. The watchword remains balance in relationships”.