Why socializing keeps your mind sharp....

Today's Post: Monday, 5-9-2011

Last Weds, 5-4-2011, HealthDay News reported research showing that socializing prevented mental decline in several different mental abilities.

Research at Rush University Medical Center found older people who had the most social activity -- from visiting friends, going to parties, to attending church – tested as having much less cognitive decline than the people who were least socially active.

None of the 1,138 adults in the ongoing Rush Memory and Aging Project had any signs of cognitive impairment at the start of the study.

As time passed, the researchers tested them all for memory, perceptual speed (the ability to quickly and accurately compare things), and spatial reasoning.

After about five years, the most socially active people tested as having only about a quarter the rate of cognitive decline as the people with the least social activity. The effect was independent of other factors that are known to affect cognitive decline, such as age, physical activity and general health.

“The study was published online April 8 in the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society.”

This study is one among many with similar results.

But why is this so? And, how can you do the same?

The main reason likely is that despite its usual feeling of being easy to do, socializing is dramatically intense brain exercise. Peter Drucker once wrote that he often found executives were unaware of their greatest strengths. Those strengths were SO easy for them, it never occurred to them those things were hard for other people to do!

Researchers recently discovered that talking to other people while socializing actually showed massive levels of brain activity! It seems this is exactly an example of what Peter Drucker was talking about. We practice socializing from before we can remember almost. So, we become unaware of this brain activity supporting it. Since it feels so easy, we are unaware of the activity our brains actually generate to do it!

Socializing is a cognitive activity with novel or slightly unexpected inputs. And, it’s active. You not only have to take in information, you have to generate an appropriate response.

In addition, to that, people who socialize often are less stressed, less lonely, and often get better real support when they need it.

Excessive stress tends to lower brain function and has even been shown to cause physical harm to memory centers.

The other cause is that people who socialize often have other advantages that likely help prevent mental decline.

They are more proactive. They tend to spend more time dwelling on happy memories than bad ones. They enjoy their lives more. They are more likely to forgive people when things go wrong. And they are less likely to assume that someone who does something they dislike is and always be like that.

So they have more to look forward to and do more. They are more interested in life. So they often learn more and are more mentally engaged even when they are not socializing.

So, they use their brains more and use them better. No wonder their brains are more likely to keep working well.