(ETH) – A new study found in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science has revealed that being generous with our money and resources to others and especially our children and aging parents are shown to increase our lifespans.

According to the report from CNN, there is a clear and evident relationship between the amount and frequency of wealth transfers and the lengths of individuals’ lives, the study results have shown. “At the beginning of life you are reliant on others,” said lead study author Tobias Vogt, who is an assistant professor in the faculty of spatial sciences at the University of Groningen.

The generous soul will be made rich, And he who waters will also be watered himself. – Proverbs 11:25

“It’s a good idea to help others throughout the course of our lives.” The researchers set out to track data on how every individual in a given society consumes and saves. Intergenerational wealth transfers can include money, but they can also include houses, benefits, or even time.

The study also revealed that Western Europe and Japan ranked the highest on data linking resource sharing and lower mortality levels with France and Japan being the nations with the lowest mortality risk, showed the highest average individual wealth transfers.

He who has a generous eye will be blessed, For he gives of his bread to the poor. – Proverbs 22:9

All these countries shared between 68% and 69% of their lifetime income while reporting mortality rates about twice as low as China and Turkey, where the people there only shared between 44% and 48% of their lifetime earnings.

“South American countries also rank high in terms of generosity, as they share more than 60% of an average individual’s lifetime income,” the researchers reported. What was interesting was that the study also revealed that countries such as Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia were people were least able to share portions of their lifetime earnings actually experienced shorter life spans.