Introverts beware! Being social is a key component to reducing dementia risk

Human beings are social creatures and ensuring that you have a network of people you can rely on to help you feel socially connected is important for living a longer and happier life. No really, research has shown that being social is very important to living a longer life in nearly every respect.

According to studies cited by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, you can make determinations about everything from how long someone will live to the level of physical health they'll enjoy based on their social relationships or level of social isolation.

Research has also demonstrated that social participation can even reduce your risk of developing dementia as you age. The more social you are as you age has a direct relation to the level of mental clarity you can enjoy as you round into your twilight years. Here's what the study found as well as why fighting dementia is important.

Dementia has become a major global problem and the World Health Organization says that there are at least 55 million people who suffer from the disease, many of which are in low and middle-income countries. But dementia seems to be going up year after year. 

There are 10 million new cases of dementia each year, which makes it one of the most serious health maladies of our time as well as one of the most expensive. In 2019, the World Health Organization estimated dementia cost the global economy $1.3 trillion. 

With such staggering statistics, it's no wonder why researchers have looked to science for help finding new ways to combat the disease—and the easiest way you can fight off dementia and keep your brain healthy is by staying socially active well into your old age. 

Published in the journal Nature Aging in 2023, the study we referred to earlier was conducted by a global team of researchers who discovered that people who are social throughout their entire lives greatly decrease their risk of dementia by increasing their cognitive reserve.

However, that wasn't the most interesting finding. It turns out that the effects of being social may get stronger into one's old age according to the researchers. But how is that possible? Let's take a look in more detail at what was actually revealed by the study's authors

The study’s authors explained that their observational research showed people with greater social participation in midlife and late life had a 30% to 50% chance of lowering their risk of developing dementia, though they admitted the findings may not have been causal. 

Social participation did lead to improved cognition but that was partly due to their short follow-up window and their small sample sizes. Nevertheless, the findings were still very groundbreaking as they showed non-medical interventions could be extremely effective.

“There is a growing body of evidence that being socially active is good for your health and can help keep your brain healthy as you age,” lead author Andrew Sommerland explained according to a press release on the study from University College London. 

“Anyone could take this advice on a personal level,” Sommerland added, “but there are also policy and societal changes that could reduce rates of dementia, such as social prescribing, socially connected housing, and more encouragement of volunteering.” 

The study’s authors recommended a number of possible policy applications for their findings and said the main goal of public health officials should be to increase social engagement and return social contact to the levels they were at prior to Covid-19. 

Providing socially connected housing was one of the possible policy solutions listed as well as increasing social centers and guiding retirees towards volunteerism and education as a way to transition from social working lives into a more social retirement. 

The study's authors also said their findings were very important since the world is getting older and dementia will soon be a disease that affects a lot more people in our society, preparing now could help us long-term. 

Sommerland explained that while the current number of people suffering from dementia sits at about 50 million, it is expected to more than triple by 2050, a situation he says means “there is an increasingly urgent need to find ways to reduce dementia’s scale and impact.”

University College London noted in their press release on the findings that the study’s authors also said brain maintenance through stress reduction and improving one’s cerebrovascular health could also play important roles in mitigating the risk of dementia. 

Dementia mostly affects older adults according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention because the ailment isn’t caused by any one thing and is more of a catch-all term for a common set of symptoms that can affect a person's brain as they age. 

Common symptoms include memory loss as well as problems with one’s attention and communication skills. Reasoning, judgment, and problem-solving skills can also be impaired in those suffering from dementia with vision problems often also present.