A simple and free habit produces a “protective effect” on cognitive function, a new study says

New research from the University of St Andrews has discovered one direct causal effect between social isolation and a more rapid decline in cognitive function later in life.

Pathological cognitive decline is often caused by Alzheimer’s and other related dementias, says research recently published in The journals of gerontology.

Let us remember that social isolation, as published by the Lancet Commission on Dementia, is one of them 14 risk factorswhich could help delay or prevent around 45% of dementia cases.

Added to the above social isolation are low education, head injuries, lack of exercise, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, high blood pressure, diabetes, hearing loss, depression and air pollution. Last year the Loss of vision and high cholesterol.

The study found a consistent pattern Greater social isolation leads to faster cognitive decline, regardless of whether people feel lonely or not.

To make this distinction, they clarify: the Social isolation is measured objectivelyE.g., sociability, membership in community organizations, and religious involvement, while loneliness is a subjective indicator of how often people feel lonely.

Although social isolation and loneliness are often thought of as being linked, this appears to be the case independent effects to cognitive function.

The School of Geography and Sustainable Development at St. Andrews, along with researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Germany and Emory University in the United States, analyzed data from the U.S. Health and Retirement Study and examined 137,653 cognitive function tests administered to more than 100,000 people between 2004 and 2018 30,000 people.

They found that reducing social isolation has an impact Protective effect on cognitive function across all subpopulations, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, and education level, with only minor differences between social categories.

There is growing interest in the impact of social isolation and loneliness on health, particularly among adolescents and older adults.

Since before the COVID-19 pandemic, about a quarter of older people (65 years and older) described themselves as socially isolated, which led to this Worries because of its health effects.

Loneliness was also recognized as important Public health problem in high-income countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Australia, Germany and Japan.

Alzheimer’s disease already affects about 6.9 million people in the United States, and about one in 11 people over 65 in the United Kingdom has it. With no known cure, Prevention is essential.

“During the Christmas holidays, many of us think about the importance of being surrounded by family and friends. From pagan winter holidays to classic Christmas stories, let’s remember that social interaction has a positive impact on our mental health. This research shows that it is also important for our cognitive health,” says Jo Hale, lead author of the article from the aforementioned university.

And he adds: “Given that Alzheimer’s is one of the leading causes of death among older adults in the United Kingdom and the United States, a framework needs to be put in place to facilitate this.” regular social interactionparticularly those who do not have family or friends nearby should be a public health priority.”

Recently, in a note in this section, the neuropsychologist Leticia Vivas spoke about the neurological effects of “training the mind”: nothing more and nothing less than the triggering of cognitive processes that strengthen neural connections that function according to one principle: “If they are not used, they are lost“.

In keeping with the importance of maintaining cognitive challenges in daily life, he spoke about the relevance of social interaction when learning an instrument, a new language or exchanging opinions about literature. “To prevent cognitive decline, the approach must always be multidimensional“, he emphasized.

The creator of labpsi, the website she created with colleagues from CONICET that offers more than 170 exercises to challenge the mind, emphasized: “The fact that It is beneficial to be with others because it challenges you a little more than doing the activities on your own.”

“There is a lot of scientific evidence that performing cognitive stimulation activities can prevent the progression of cognitive impairment to dementia. In such cases, it is important to perform these activities in the right way.” most sustainable as quickly as possible,” he recommended.

In this sense, having a pet, both for the socialization effect it promotes and for the Search for purpose; such as daily walks (with company, the better), going shopping, taking a class if you are mentally active; You will usually be advised by specialists in psychology and geriatrics.

The neighborhood club, the corner cafe, development societies, educational institutions can act as allies and promote socialization and encounters.

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