81. Want to avoid cognitive decline? Be social.
If you’ve been getting my blog for awhile, you know that there are a LOT of reasons to prioritize relationships. Connection has a positive impact in SO many areas of our lives. Here’s another one:
Data point of the week
A meta-analysis of 51 studies that assessed the impact of social isolation on cognitive functioning concluded that “High engagement in social activity and large social networks were associated with better late-life cognitive function.”
In other words, if you want to ward off memory loss and cognitive decline, stay socially active!
Reflection
When I think of aging well, I think of my maternal grandmother, who stayed mentally sharp, active, and engaged into her late nineties. Unfortunately, during her last couple of years she was restricted to her room much of the time because of the pandemic. Even so, she managed to maintain a positive attitude and stayed engaged in other ways, such as playing Words With Friends (which she managed to beat me at from time to time at the age of 99).
Connection Skill & Action Step: Reach out (to old friends and new acquaintances)
Staying socially active sometimes means taking the initiative to reach out and connect. Consider one or more of the following:
Reach out to reconnect with a someone you’ve lost touch with. You might be surprised at how happy they are to hear from you! One of the perks of social media is being able to find people you’ve fallen out of contact with … but try to take your interaction offline.
Reach out to someone who you know is going through a hard time. Check-in and offer support or a diversion.
Reach out to someone you met recently and would like to get to know better and propose an activity or follow-up get-together.
Reaching out and initiating connection can take emotional energy. If this activity feels hard to you, consider setting a small goal, like reaching out to one person per week. Or, gamify it, such as by setting a target goal (reach out to 5 people) batching it into one day, and giving yourself a mini-reward.
Questions. Please share your responses in the comments.
Have you ever reconnected with someone you’d lost touch with for years? If so, how did it go? If not, are there any people from your past that you’d like to reconnect with?
