Posted on 02/28/2025 5:43:38 PM PST by nickcarraway
A new study suggests that those sleepless nights and stressful mornings might actually be keeping your mind young and sharp.
Researchers analyzed the brain scans of 19,964 women and 17,607 men from the UK and found that people who had children showed slower cognitive decline as they aged compared to those with fewer or no kids.
“The regions that decrease in functional connectivity as individuals age are the regions associated with increased connectivity when individuals have had children,” said lead study author Avram Holmes, a psychiatry professor at the Rutgers Center for Advanced Human Brain Imaging Research. That the results were the same for men and women indicates that these brain-boosting effects are due to parenting as opposed to pregnancy.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
It’s not about the kids. It’s about the sex.
I’ve sometimes heard, that children and grandchildren keep you young. I’ve heard the same about work, that some retirees decline after retirement.
Perhaps the key is to stay active as we age. Retirees need a reason to get up in the morning. Children and grandchildren can also keep you active, just by being involved in their lives.
Seems, that one must train for old age.
So what’s Byedone’s excuse?
He’s tarded, Jim.
“Having kids can fight brain aging — the more children, the better”
Maybe the brain but the body turns to shit.
“Seems, that one must train for old age.”
Take it from an 84 year old curmudgeon, nothing can prepare you for it except maybe PTSD.
I actually do believe that.
Within certain rules, sex is healthy: heart, sleep, weight, stress levels are all impacted.
“I’ve sometimes heard, that children and grandchildren keep you young. I’ve heard the same about work, that some retirees decline after retirement.”
I have nine grandchildren. I help homeschool three and see the others multiple times a week as well. I retired into a more mentally and physically demanding job of full time, engaged grandparent. I could not imagine not having them. Life would be such a bore.
Its not because kids are the direct cause.
Its because some drank and partied less. Indirect cause.
For some, kids can be stressors and up your cortisol levels. And give you less sleep and an overall less peaceful life. I don’t think they can say universally they are always a positive for every person.
Sex is extremely healthy. For men and women. Ultiple,health benefits for both sides.
Women still won’t want to do it. Because they know men enjoy it and its very important to them.
You sound like a friend of mine.
Besides, is the control group that doesn't have children, also not having sex?
I certainly didn’t mean to imply that the non-parents had no sex. But it may be that they have less sex. Look at how many times we’ve been told that younger adults are deciding not to have kids, and/or marry, and/or date, and/or go to church.
Combine that with the Sociology of Sexuality research study that learned that the people who have sex the most frequently are the people who are Christian, married, and attend church regularly. Those people tend to be parents. Yet again, doing things God’s way is good for the brain. LOL
It depends on the person and personality type. Coping skills. How stress is handled. Stress weakens the cells that fight cancer for those with difficulty handling things. Others thrive on stress.
I would’ve been a terrible mother; I know that about me.
“keeping your mind young and sharp.”
I am 41 and have 6 children ages young to teen. Wife is stay-at-home mom. Have never smoked or tried alcohol.
Every day I come home and see some other mess, some other thing broken, and I ask “How in the world...?” or “How did they manage to break...?” Pondering these deep mysteries keeps my mind very sharp.
Sadly, I happen to now know of a few people who either have dementia or Alzheimers and THEY HAVE CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN!
My 2Xs great grandmother had, in very old age, what was then called senility and she had had 11 children, two of which died in very early childhood. And she is the ONLY family member of mine, in a direct line, who had this.
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