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Helping behavior slows the cognitive decline from aging
Being engaged in helping others can make your brain sharper as you age. This is a notable study, too, because it tracked not only volunteering but also informal helping behaviors, which are often not measured.
The new study of more than 30,000 adults in the U.S. looking at individuals over two decades found that the rate of cognitive decline associated with aging fell by 15%-20% for people who formally volunteer their services or who help in more informal ways with neighbors, family or friends outside the home on a regular basis. This cognitive benefit was consistently observed when individuals devoted about two to four hours per week to helping others.
Helping Others Shown To Slow Cognitive Decline | College of Natural Sciences
