Caring for grandchildren helps prevent Alzheimer's
The grandparents they are those uncovered heroes who help maintain a home, even if they do not live in it. A phone call, and these relatives will go to the home to take care of the grandchildren, making it easier for parents to reconcile work and parenthood. A clear example that the concept of family is much broader than that of father, mother, children and brothers.
But science has shown that not only do parents benefit from the fact that grandparents take care of your grandchildren. Older people also obtain positive results from these activities and not only to strengthen the bond with these relatives. Participating in the upbringing of these children also helps prevent Alzheimer's and increases their life expectancy.
Important reduction of the possibilities
Caring for grandchildren has been shown to be an important way to prevent Alzheimer's and other types of dementias. This is indicated by a study published in the magazine Women's Health Aging Project. The objective of this research was to analyze the cognitive activity of 180 Australian women and ask about the time they spent taking care of these little ones.
Those grandmothers who took care of their children once a week had a lower risk of contracting diseases neurodegenerative as Alzheimer's. The investigators assure that the care of a child requires the application of activities that help to prevent this type of dementias. At the same time participation in this upbringing involves a constant mental exercise such as teaching the lyrics of a song or going over the numbers together.
In short, participation in the upbringing of grandchildren helps grandparents exercise their brains and avoid the neuronal degeneration that leads to this type of dementias such as Alzheimer's. Of course, the authors warn that these results have only been found in older people who performed this care in short periods of time and that those who had custody of their grandchildren or spend more than five days a week taking care of them are more likely to contract this type of neurological diseases.
Physical benefits
The care of the grandchildren not only prevents the developing of dementias such as Alzheimer's. It also helps to keep away physical illnesses such as osteoporosis. One of the best ways to prevent this disease is the practice of exercise. However, many older people who reach a certain age tend to focus on a more sedentary lifestyle. The lack of work after retirement and the feeling of tiredness cause grandparents to minimize their physical activity and prefer to stay at home.
This is where the family has to act and encourage grandparents to Not stay at home and to go out to the street to move. At this point the grandchildren are a great help to get the elderly up. Children are an inexhaustible source of energy that can be spread by making these people go out to enjoy this quality time with their little relatives.
The practice of this exercise contributes to the prevention of osteoporosis since with these practices bones and muscles are activated and move. Experts recommend at least 20 minutes a day of walking as a practice to keep this disease away and the care of the grandchildren can be a good option to meet them. Taking walks with them, participating in their games or picking them up at school will keep grandparents standing while the children are left in the care of someone they trust and will surely enjoy.
Damián Montero
