Whilst many young adults feel as if bearing kids would make their life more weary and maybe even wean years off their life, however a new study says otherwise; states having children may actually increase your life span.
According to a new study from Sweden, older adults who chose to have children lived considerably longer than those who elected to stay childless. As an example, the researchers calculated that men aged 60 and with children were expected to live another 20.2 years, while men without children were anticipated to live 18.4 years more. Amongst 60-year-old women, those with children were said to live another 24.6 years, while those without any children had an expected 23.1 more years to live, the researchers deduced.
The findings suggest that the social support that children end up giving to their aging parents ultimately contributes to a longer life span. Previous studies have found a link between parenthood and a longer life span, but few studies have examined this link in people over age 60, according to the researchers.
For the study, the researchers had studied samples from more than 700,000 men and 725,000 women who were living in Sweden and were born between 1911 and 1925. The participants were observed from the age 60 until their death or at least the year 2014.
The researchers also found that the connection between having children and living longer was more adamant for people who were unmarried at the time of the study. This finding suggests that single people, particularly men, may depend more profoundly on their children in the absence of a spouse, the researchers said.
"That the association increased with parents' age and was somewhat stronger for the non-married may suggest that social support is a possible explanation, for the link between parenthood and a longer life span, the researchers said.
However, the study could not completely rule out other possible explanations for the link. For example, it's possible that parents may practice healthier behaviors than nonparents, they said.
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