Several recent studies suggest that spending time with family and friends may help your brain. A Harvard study found that an active social life can delay memory loss, and a Kaiser Permanente study showed that large social networks seem to protect memory and thinking in older women. Finally, a Rush University Medical Center study showed that loneliness is linked to late-life memory loss.
Another study at Rush showed that an active social life may contribute to what researchers call your “brain reserve.” This brain reserve may explain why some people’s memory and thinking remains good throughout life, even though autopsies show they had degenerative brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
This new research suggests it’s good for your health to get out of the house and participate in activities you enjoy. Things you might do with your family and friends include:
- Have coffee or a meal
- Cook
- Take a walk
- Go for a swim
- Go dancing
- Ride your bicycle
- Sing or play instruments
- Try drawing, painting or sculpture
- Make pottery
- Try photography
- Act in a play
- Knit or quilt
- Play games
- Go to a play, a movie, a concert or a museum
- Volunteer (read with children, help clean up a beach or a park, work with animals at shelters, etc.).
Even when it’s hard for you to get out of the house, you can keep up a social life by having visitors, talking on the phone or communicating through email or chat groups. If you like to write or share photos, you might start a blog or website, or participate in social networking sites such as Facebook or Ning, or online support groups such as Dementia Advocacy and Support Network (DASN).
Learn More:
Tangled Neuron Posts:
To Whom I May Concern: Performing Alzheimer’s Stories
Got Memory Loss? A Different Approach
Does Memory Loss Mean Loss of Self?
A Physician Blogs About His Lewy Body Disease
Other Resources:
Dancing Away Memory Blues [blog with summaries of studies on activities that enrich the lives of people with memory loss]
The Intergenerational School [Cleveland, Ohio]
