A study led by researchers from The University of Texas at Austin and the University of Massachusetts Boston has found that regular helping outside the home, including both formal volunteering and informal assistance to others, can slow cognitive decline in middle-aged and older adults.
The research followed more than 30,000 adults in the United States over a period of two decades. It found that people who volunteered or helped others for about two to four hours per week experienced a 15% to 20% slower rate of cognitive decline related to aging. These findings were published in Social Science & Medicine and funded by 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, assistant professor of human development and family sciences at UT and lead author of 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.”
The study examined both scheduled volunteering activities and less formal types of help such as assisting neighbors or friends with daily tasks like transportation, childcare, yard work, or financial paperwork. While about one-third of older Americans participate in formal volunteer work, more than half regularly help others informally.
“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.”
Researchers analyzed data from the national Health and Retirement Study involving U.S. residents over age 51 since 1998. The analysis accounted for factors such as wealth, physical health, mental health, and education. Results indicated that those who began or maintained helping behaviors saw slower age-related cognitive decline compared with those who did not engage in such activities.
“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.”
The authors suggest these findings support public health efforts aimed at promoting volunteerism and community involvement among older adults as a way to address issues related to aging populations and diseases like Alzheimer’s.
Han also led another recent study showing that volunteering can reduce negative effects of chronic stress on systemic inflammation—a biological process linked with dementia—especially among people with higher inflammation levels.
Taken together, these studies indicate that regular helping may protect brain health by reducing stress-related physiological impacts or strengthening social connections important for psychological well-being. The results highlight the potential value in providing opportunities for all older adults—including those already experiencing some cognitive decline—to continue contributing through acts of support.
“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 contributors included former UT postdoctoral researcher Shiyang Zhang and Jeffrey Burr from the University of Massachusetts Boston.
