Forget ‘mommy brain’: Neuroscientists say parenthood could actually prevent your mind from aging

Some good news for all the tired parents out there: Having and raising kids may unexpectedly boost your brain and protect your mind from aging over the long run, according to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The research from Rutgers Health and Yale University found parents developed higher brain-wide functional connectivity as they aged, especially in networks associated with movement and sensation, if they had more children. Those same networks typically show lower functional connectivity associated with greater age, meaning parenthood may protect against “functional brain aging.”

The study findings apply to both moms and dads, which suggests the benefits come from parenthood caregiving, rather than pregnancy alone.

This study looked at data from 37,000 adults including 19,964 females and 17,607 males from the UK Biobank, using the largest population-based neuroimaging data set to date to investigate the link between the number of children a parent had and age of brain function. It sheds new light on how adult human brains develop over the course of a lifespan, and is encouraging news for women who temporarily suffer from “Mommy brain,” or greater forgetfulness and difficulty concentrating during and after pregnancy.

Overall, these results suggest that parenthood may be neuroprotective in later life, and are consistent with preliminary findings of previous studies that show “younger-looking” brain structures in animal parents.

Check out the full study here.

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