Volunteering may have benefits for memory among older adults

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-10/ags-vmh100516.php

Public Release: 5-Oct-2016
Volunteering may have benefits for memory among older adults
American Geriatrics Society

A new research study has shown that volunteering regularly over time may have benefits for older adults. The study was published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Older adult volunteers can help address many community needs. This study shows that older adults who volunteer, for example, enjoy better emotional and physical health, and even tend to live longer than non-volunteers do. And there is a huge economic upside to volunteering: the volunteer work that older adults perform generates some $162 billion dollars toward the U.S. economy every year.

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After analyzing the information gathered over the 14-year period, the researchers reported that older adults who volunteered--even at a single point in time--showed a decreased risk for developing cognitive problems, even if they had other risk factors for cognitive impairment, such as smoking or being inactive.

People who volunteered regularly reduced their chances for developing cognitive problems by 27 percent.

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