Bingo night just got a whole lot more interesting.
A new study suggests that staying socially active in your golden years might be the secret to a longer, sharper life.
Whether it’s dining out with friends, attending religious services, or just staying connected, researchers at Rush University Medical Center found that older adults who maintain social ties develop dementia up to five years later than those who isolate themselves.
“This study is a follow up on previous papers from our group showing that social activity is related to less cognitive decline in older adults,” Bryan James, an associate professor of internal medicine at Rush, said in a press release.
The research takes on new urgency following the coronavirus pandemic, which left many older adults isolated. Chronic loneliness has been linked to cognitive decline, especially in brain regions responsible for memory and executive function.
In the study, researchers followed 1,923 older adults who were initially free of dementia, checking in with them annually to monitor their social activity and cognitive health. Over nearly seven years, 545 participants developed dementia, while 695 showed signs of mild cognitive impairment.
After factoring in variables like age, education, and marital status, the team found that more frequent social activity was linked to a 38% lower chance of developing dementia and a 21% lower risk of mild cognitive impairment.
The exact reason social activity plays a role in cognitive health isn’t entirely clear. One theory is that it challenges older adults to engage in complex social interactions, which could help maintain or strengthen neural networks, much like a “use it or lose it” approach, James said.
In other words, socializing keeps the brain’s neural circuits sharp, making them more resilient to age-related changes. Conversations, navigating social situations, and even playing bingo all activate the brain areas responsible for thinking and memory.
The researchers say their findings underscore the potential of social activity as a community-level strategy to help reduce dementia risk.
The broader impact is even more striking. A five-year delay in dementia onset could save roughly $500,000 in healthcare costs per person, while potentially adding three extra years to the life expectancy of those who would have otherwise developed the memory-robbing disease.
In 2022, more than six million Americans were living with dementia — nearly 10% of people aged 65 and older. That same year, dementia was the underlying cause of death for 288,436 older adults.
New projections suggest the number of people in the U.S. developing dementia could double over the next 30 years, reaching about one million cases annually by 2060. The surge is largely driven by the aging population, as more Americans are living longer than previous generations.
