Living close to our parents might have more benefits than we know.
I mean, we already know the benefits of having a quick and cheap babysitter on standby, but it goes even further.
Studies have revealed that there are in fact many benefits to grandparents spending time with their young grandchildren.
The University of Basel in Switzerland conducted a study between 1990 and 1993, involving 500 grandparents. The study found that those who cared for their grandchildren lived around ten years longer than those who did not.
That's a result we didn’t expect!
Supporting this, another study found that having the grandparents in close proximity can reduce depressive symptoms in both groups.
Research published in The Gerontologist in 2014 showed that a longer and closer relationship between grandparents and adult grandchildren led to increased overall happiness and decreased depressive symptoms.
So the benefits of spending quality time with the grandkids run a lot deeper than just being an easy babysitter!
