Older people risk mental decline if they do long hours of caring, UK study shows

Lead author of the report, Dr Baowen Xue, described the caring responsibilities many take on in later life as a ‘double-edged sword’. Photograph: Pixel Youth movement/Alamy

The stresses and strains of caring for someone for 50 hours or more a week leads to “accelerated cognitive decline” in middle-aged and older people, research shows.

However, providing care for only five to nine hours a week has the opposite effect, boosting brain health so much that the benefits last until older age.