Strong social ties are often linked to better health, and new research adds a brain benefit to that list. Researchers from The University of Texas at Austin and University of Massachusetts Boston report that regularly helping people outside your household can noticeably slow cognitive decline in middle-age and older adults.
In a study that followed more than 30,000 adults in the U.S. for two decades, people who consistently helped others outside the home showed a slower rate of age-related cognitive decline. The researchers found the decline was reduced by about 15%-20% among those who either volunteered formally or helped in informal ways, such as supporting neighbors, family, or friends. The strongest and most consistent benefit appeared when people spent about two to four hours per week helping others.
The findings were published recently in Social Science & Medicine. The work was supported by funding from the National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
“Everyday acts of support — whether organized or personal — can have lasting cognitive impact,” said Sae Hwang Han, an assistant professor of human development and family sciences at UT who led the study. “What stood out to me was that the cognitive benefits of helping others weren’t just short-term boosts but cumulative over time with sustained engagement, and these benefits were evident for both formal volunteering and informal helping. And in addition to that, moderate engagement of just two to four hours was consistently linked to robust benefits.”
Formal volunteering and informal helping both mattered
The study is among the first to examine formal volunteering and informal helping side by side. Informal helping can include giving someone a ride to a health appointment, watching children, doing lawn work, or helping prepare taxes for a neighbor, relative, or friend.
Previous reports suggest about 1 in 3 older Americans take part in scheduled or formal volunteering. In contrast, more than half regularly help people they know in these less formal ways.
“Informal helping is sometimes assumed to offer fewer health benefits due to its lack of social recognition,” Han said. But in fact, “It was a pleasant surprise to find that it provides cognitive benefits comparable to formal volunteering.”
Long-term national data strengthens the findings
To study these patterns over time, the researchers analyzed longitudinal data from the national Health and Retirement Study. The dataset includes a representative sample of U.S. residents over age 51, with information dating back to 1998.
The researchers accounted for other factors that can shape both helping behavior and cognitive health, including wealth, physical and mental health, and education. Even after considering those influences, cognitive decline tended to slow when people started helping others and continued to do so. The results also suggest that the benefits may grow when helping becomes a steady routine year after year.
“Conversely, our data show that completely withdrawing from helping is associated with worse cognitive function,” Han said. “This suggests the importance of keeping older adults engaged in some form of helping for as long as possible, with appropriate supports and accommodations in place.”
Why this may matter for public health and aging
The researchers argue these results strengthen the case for thinking about volunteering, helping, and neighborhood connection as public health issues. This may be especially important later in life, when conditions tied to cognitive decline and impairment, including Alzheimer’s, are more likely to develop.
The paper also points to related work by the same lead researcher. Another recent study led by Han found that volunteering helped counter the harmful effects of chronic stress on systemic inflammation — a known biological pathway linked to cognitive decline and dementia. The benefit was strongest among people with higher levels of inflammation.
Taken together, these findings suggest helping others may support brain health in more than one way. It may reduce the physical strain linked to stress, and it may strengthen social bonds that provide psychological, emotional, and cognitive support. As societies age and concerns about loneliness and isolation grow, the results also support continued efforts to keep people involved in ways that let them contribute, even after cognitive decline has begun.
“Many older adults in suboptimal health often continue to make valuable contributions to those around them,” Han said, “and they also may be the ones to especially benefit from being provided with opportunities to help.”
Other authors on the study were former UT postdoctoral researcher Shiyang Zhang and Jeffrey Burr of the University of Massachusetts Boston.