Staying Socially Active Appears to Offset Cognitive Decline

At the 2019 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in July, representatives from five research studies talked about lifestyle interventions that may counteract the genetic risk for the disease, and for dementia. These five interventions including smoking cessation, regular exercise, a healthy diet, limited alcohol consumption and cognitive stimulation. But in August, a new longitudinal study from University College London found that there’s another lifestyle factor that appears to lower the risk of dementia later in life: frequent social contact around age 60. Although the participants were of varying ages, it was social contact at age 60 that was most significantly linked to the lower risk later in life. More specifically, Psychology Today reports: “Those who had daily face-to-face interactions with friends at age 60 were 12% less likely to develop dementia than age-matched cohorts who weren’t socially engaged on a regular basis.” Learn more in the Psychology Today article:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-athletes-way/201908/staying-socially-active-may-offset-risk-cognitive-decline