Socializing to Continue Healthy Aging

Tip for Healthy Aging: Engage in High-Quality Social Interactions

There is more to social interaction than just enriching your life with great friends and opportunities to serve others. High-quality social interaction can actually promote healthy aging. Studies consistently show that people who live alone have more diseases and disabilities to go with shorter lifespans. Helping others may be even more important to healthy aging than finding others to help us. Even your brain will stay much more vibrant, according to many studies, when you take part regularly in social activities.

The Aging Process

As you age, you will notice that the bodily functions you once took for granted are not always so reliable. Your muscles may not be there when you expect them to perform some activity for you. Your bones may get brittle or feel painful. Your joints may begin to bother you, particularly in the mornings. The less you've done to take care of your body, the less healthy aging will be.

You can slow these aging processes down a great deal with social activities, but don't neglect eating right and exercising regularly either. Many people are very surprised to learn that how they live their lives has such an impact on whether they suffer as they age or experience healthy aging. Most people know that what they eat has an impact on health, but don't realize that it also impacts how they age. Most people know that exercise is important as they get older, but don't really understand why. But few people have any idea of just how important something like getting out and interacting with others daily can be to things like how much their joints hurt or how strong their muscles are.

Being a Loner Isn't a Part of Healthy Aging

There are a lot of myths about how people who don't socialize are lonely. Some people don't socialize simply because they aren't lonely. Many people socialize simply because they constantly feel lonely. Regardless of the reason for being social, studies show that being a part of a strong social structure will improve the function of your brain and your ability to deal with stressful problems. Even depression is more effectively dealt with by those who go out and interact with others regularly. So whether you are lonely or not, you need to make the effort to go out and socialize if you want to age more slowly.

Forcing Yourself to Meet People

Some people think you have to go into a bar to meet people. Actually, people are everywhere; it is just a matter of finding them in the most approachable places. Many types of stores are good places to meet people. When you go for walks, say hello to people and smile, no matter how alien the whole process feels. Try to talk to more people at church and be genuinely interested in their lives and how they are doing. Doing volunteer jobs at shelters or other nonprofit venues can be a very good way to meet people. If you have a job, take time to get to know the other workers on a personal level. If you don't have a job, consider the benefits of taking a job where there are other people in your age group.

What you shouldn't do is sit around waiting for social interaction to find you. You don't have to be a victim of life. You can live life as if you have the control over it. Be proactive in forming social relationships. Ask people what you can do to help them. When you help others you will stay socially active and healthy, and most importantly you will feel great and others will feel better than they would have if you had not intervened.