This might not come as a surprise to some of you - but new research has found that having more than two kids could age you faster.
According to the study from researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and the Robert Butler Columbia Aging Center and Université Paris-Dauphine, having three or more children led to worse cognitive function later in life.
The findings are published in the journal Demography.
Research methods
Researchers collected data from adults aged 65 and over in 20 different European countries and Israel. The participants all had a minimum of two children.
One of the researchers, Eric Bonsang, said that they found that the negative results from having three or more children were equal to 6.2 years of aging.
"For individuals, late life cognitive health is essential for maintaining independence and being socially active and productive in late life. For societies, ensuring the cognitive health of the older population is essential for extending work lives and reducing health care costs and care needs," the professor of economics at the Université Paris-Dauphine said.
Stress factors
While they couldn’t pinpoint a reason for these results, researchers suggested that they could be linked to the additional financial strain that having more children puts on a family.
Also more stress and less time to unwind and sleep means parents may not be able to engage in as many ‘cognitively stimulating leisure activities’ which may help sustain brain function over time.