Slow Cognitive Decline and Live Longer by Socializing More

 

A  article from Bottomline Health  by JulanneHolt-Lunstad, PhD a professor of Psychology & neuroscience & director of social neuroscience lab @ Brigham Young University and Katie Wenger, LCSW, a licensed clinical social worker/psychotherapist in private practice.

Researchers at the Center for Healthy Aging @ Penn State Univ. studied 362 adults between ages of 70 -90 for 16 days.  Five times each day, the study participants were prompted via smartphone to report how many social interactions they’d had, who they interacted with, and whether it was a positive or negative experience. The participants took cognitive tests after each prompt to measure focus & memory.

The researchers found that when the study participants interacted more frequently  with people that they were close to—especially friends—they performed better on the cognitive tests than people who interacted less frequently. They also found overall that cognition improved when a study participant who didn’t have much regular contact with family or friends increased their contacts.

The researchers concluded that lack of positive social interactions in daily life could be a critical factor for declining cognitive function later in life.