It has already been well publicized that having social connections is good for your mental health — if you remember the lockdown times, you may not need a peer-reviewed study on that.
However, a study from scientists at the University of Toronto says staying social, especially in older adults, keeps them physically healthy, too.
The researchers tracked 7,000 Canadians for roughly three years and found the health of those who stayed plugged into others — whether it be a church group, through volunteering, or regular old recreational activities — were found to be more likely to maintain “excellent” health in that timespan.
The social subjects were less likely to suffer mental or emotional problems, but they were also physically and cognitively healthier to boot, compared to their introverted counterparts.
In fact, it was a blow-out: 72% of the socially connected subjects were considered to be “successfully aging” — that is lacking the maladies just described as they got older.
Only two-thirds of the subjects who weren’t so connected were said to be in that successfully aging category.
Mabel Ho, a doctoral candidate at the University of Toronto’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work and the study’s lead author, noted, “Although the study’s observational nature prohibits the determination of causality, it makes intuitive sense that social activity is associated with successful aging.”
Ho added, “Being socially active is important no matter how old we are. Feeling connected and engaged can boost our mood, reduce our sense of loneliness and isolation, and improve our mental health and overall health.”