MADRID, 17 (EUROPA PRESS)
A team from the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Massachusetts (United States) has discovered that people who regularly volunteer or informally help neighbors, family members, or friends see a delay in their age-related cognitive decline.
The study, published in Social Science & Medicine, analyzed more than 30,000 adults in the U.S. and confirmed that among those who performed these types of community service activities, the rate of cognitive decline associated with aging was reduced by 15 to 20 percent. The benefit was strongest among those who dedicated two to four hours a week to helping others.
"What caught my attention was that the cognitive benefits of helping others weren't just short-term improvements, but accumulated over time with sustained participation, and these benefits were evident for both formal volunteering and informal helping. Moreover, moderate participation of just two to four hours was consistently associated with significant benefits," said Sae Hwang Han, assistant professor of human development and family sciences at UT, who led the study.
The research is innovative because it is one of the first to analyze both formal volunteering and other available daily assistance, which can include actions such as accompanying a family member to a medical appointment, babysitting a friend's children, or mowing a neighbor's lawn.
"It's sometimes assumed that informal volunteering offers fewer health benefits due to its lack of social recognition," Han noted. But in fact, "it was a pleasant surprise to discover that it provides cognitive benefits comparable to those of formal volunteering," he emphasized.
For the study, the authors used longitudinal data from the U.S. population, which revealed that age-related cognitive decline slowed as people initiated and maintained helping behaviors. Based on these findings, they suggest that greater brain improvements may occur in those who integrate helping behaviors into their routine, year after year.
On the contrary, the data showed that those who stopped receiving these supports altogether saw their cognitive decline negatively affected. "This suggests the importance of older adults participating in some form of support for as long as possible, with appropriate supports and accommodations," Han stated.
BENEFITS AGAINST STRESS
Another recent study, also led by Han, found that volunteering attenuated the adverse effects of chronic stress on systemic inflammation, a known biological pathway linked to cognitive decline and dementia. The effect was especially pronounced in people with higher levels of inflammation.
Taken together, the findings from both studies suggest that volunteering and helping others can improve brain health, either by reducing the physiological stress associated with stress or by strengthening social connections that provide psychological, emotional, and cognitive benefits.
In the context of an aging society and growing concerns about loneliness and isolation, the findings also provide an important basis for continuing to engage people in these types of activities, even after cognitive decline has set in.
