This fun activity can reduce your risk of dementia by 38%

Bingo Night has become much more interesting.

A new study suggests that remaining socially active in your golden years could be the secret of a longer and clearer life.

Whether it’s eating with friends, frequenting religious services or being connected, researchers from the Rush University Medical Center have found that older adults who keep social ties develop dementia up to five years more late than those who isolate themselves.

“This study is a monitoring of the previous articles of our group showing that social activity is linked to a less cognitive decline in the elderly,” said Bryan James, an associate professor of internal medicine in Rush, in a press release.

Research resumes a new emergency after the coronavirus pandemic, which has left many isolated elderly people. Chronic loneliness has been linked to cognitive decline, especially in the brain regions responsible for memory and executive function.

In the study, the researchers followed 1,923 elderly people who were initially exempt from dementia, checking with them each year to monitor their social activity and their cognitive health. On almost seven years, 545 participants have developed dementia, while 695 showed signs of light cognitive impairment.

After taking into account variables such as age, education and matrimonial state, the team found that more frequent social activity was linked to a chance of 38% dementia and a risk of 21% light cognitive impairment.

The exact reason why social activity plays a role in cognitive health is not entirely clear. A theory is that he challenges the elderly to engage in complex social interactions, which could help maintain or strengthen neural networks, just like an “use or lose” approach, ” declared James.

In other words, socialization maintains neural circuits of the net brain, which makes them more resistant to age -related changes. Conversations, navigation on social situations and even reading Bingo activate all areas of the brain responsible for thought and memory.

Researchers say that their results highlight the potential of social activity as a community level strategy to help reduce the risk of dementia.

The wider impact is even more striking. A period of five years at the start of dementia could save around $ 500,000 in health costs per person, while adding three additional years to the life expectancy of those who would have otherwise developed the disease in memory.

In 2022, more than six million Americans lived with dementia – almost 10% of people aged 65 and over. The same year, dementia was the underlying cause of death for 288,436 elderly people.

New projections suggest that the number of people in the United States who develop dementia could double over the next 30 years, reaching around one million cases per year by 2060. The outbreak is largely motivated by the aging population, because More Americans live longer than previous generations.