ENGLAND — Providing more than 50 hours of unpaid care per week accelerates cognitive decline in middle-aged and older adults in England, according to a study published in the journal Age and Ageing. The research, led by University College London, also found that providing five to nine hours of care per week was associated with brain health benefits that lasted into older age.

Researchers compared the cognitive health of 2,765 carers aged 50 or over with that of 2,765 non-carers of the same age who are part of the English Longitudinal Study on Ageing. Participants were 60 years old on average, and 56% were women. The study focused on executive function and memory. Caring for someone within the carer's household led to a quicker decline in cognitive function than caring for someone outside the household, the researchers found.

The paper's authors urged the government to help intensive carers through better access to funded formal and replacement care. They wrote that the intensity of high-intensity care may lead to feelings of loneliness and disrupt sleep, compounding negative effects on cognition.

"Our study shows that the caring responsibilities many people take on in later life can be a double-edged sword," said Dr Baowen Xue, an academic at University College London. "On the one hand, lighter caring responsibilities can be good for you by providing mental stimulation from interacting with loved ones or others you're helping and a sense of purpose and usefulness. But being overloaded with caring tasks has exactly the opposite effect and can accelerate people's mental decline in terms of not being as mentally sharp or quick-thinking as they used to be."

The UK's 2021 census found that 5.8 million people provide unpaid care and that 1.7 million of them do so for at least 50 hours a week. The proportion of adults providing care for more than 35 hours a week rose by 71% between 2003-04 and 2023-24, according to Joseph Rowntree Foundation research.

"These findings are extremely worrying, showing that many hours of caring could contribute to cognitive decline," said Helen Walker, chief executive of Carers UK. "The government, local councils and the NHS need to do more to give family carers more support."

"Caring in and of itself is not the problem here. But we need to do a lot more to support people in this position so they can continue to stay fit and well, and so they have the time and space to enjoy living their own lives, while helping someone else to live theirs," said Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK. "Anyone who cares intensively is likely to struggle to fit in the time for enough rest, sleep and time away doing things they enjoy. These are essential human needs which, when met, set you up for good mental and physical health."