Staying social keeps you healthy as you age, study finds

Joining that book club could be the key to aging gracefully.

Maintaining a healthy social life is associated with “successful aging” later in life, according to a new study.

Researchers at the University of Toronto defined “successful aging” as not having any serious physical, cognitive, mental, or emotional issues that prevent someone from completing daily activities. The study’s participants could still age successfully if they had a chronic illness if they didn’t have debilitating pain when completing daily tasks.

The study also took into consideration participants’ self-reported levels of happiness, physical health, and mental health.

Researchers collected initial data on thousands of middle-aged and older Canadians (ages 60+) who were considered to be successfully aging between 2011 and 2015. The researchers then conducted a follow-up study on more than 7,000 of the participants from 2015 to 2018 to determine whether continued social participation helped them age successfully.

Roughly 72% of the participants who continued to do volunteer work and recreational activities were still considered to be aging successfully during the three-year study, the researchers found. Those participants were also less likely to develop physical, cognitive, mental, or emotional problems.

One-third of the participants who were not engaged in volunteer work or recreational activities, however, were not considered to be aging successfully by the end of the study.

The researchers concluded that older people who participate in recreational activities are 15% more likely to maintain “excellent” health as they age, and those who participate in volunteer or charity work are 17% more likely to maintain “excellent” health.

“Although the study’s observational nature prohibits the determination of causality, it makes intuitive sense that social activity is associated with successful aging,” Mabel Ho, the study’s first author and doctoral candidate at the University of Toronto, said in a statement. “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.”