Podbit · Modern Wisdom
The brain changes in new dads happen almost entirely in the mentalizing network — the seat of empathy and mind-reading. It grows because caring for a non-verbal infant is a daily workout in reading emotions and solving problems. Simply being a biological father without hands-on care produces almost none of this change.
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At 24:24 · chapter starts 24:19
The trade-offs of parenthood extend into a surprising long-term benefit: having children appears to be neuroprotective. Saxbe cites UK Biobank data from middle-aged and older adults showing that people who have had more children have better cognitive functioning and brains that machine-learning algorithms rate as chronologically younger — with the effect plateauing at around 3 children. [1] — Darby Saxbe "More kids = younger-looking brain: UK Biobank data shows that having more children (up to about 3) is associated with better cognitive func…" 28:41 The finding holds for both mothers and fathers, which Saxbe takes as evidence that the mechanism isn't pregnancy hormones, breastfeeding, or birth experience — it's social integration. Being closely and durably connected to other people is one of the strongest predictors of brain health, and children are an unusually powerful forcing function for that connection. The conversation briefly explores whether intense friendship or pet ownership might replicate the effect, with Saxbe allowing that deep empathetic caregiving of any vulnerable creature could potentially deliver similar brain benefits.
UK Biobank data from thousands of middle-aged and older adults shows that having children is associated with better cognitive functioning and brains that AI algorithms assess as younger. The effect plateaus around 3 kids. The likely mechanism isn't hormones — it's the social integration that parenting forces on you.
UK Biobank data shows that having more children (up to about 3) is associated with better cognitive functioning and machine-learning-assessed younger brain age in middle and older age.
The neuroprotective benefit of parenthood on brain age tops off at around 3 children, after which there is no additional cognitive benefit from having more.
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