Loneliness is one of the biggest health concerns for seniors. It’s underestimated but very common among seniors. As we get older, it’s easier to grow more isolated, friends leave, family may pass away, and kids have their own lives. Being social can help to age well and keep people happy.

Being Social Can Help to Age Well

It might be hard to figure out how to make connections, it can maybe feel like being a new kid at school. But here are a few things you can do, volunteer, join a club, make new friends from those places, all of these things can get you out of the house and interacting with people.

Having good connections with friends, family, and your community may even lengthen your life. Researchers studied 7,000 men and women in Alameda County, Calif., and found that people who were “disconnected from others” were about three times more likely to die during the nine-year study than people with strong social ties.

Friends can also influence your habits, if they are eating healthy you may be more inclined to eat healthy. If your friends don’t smoke there is a good chance you don’t smoke either.

You can read more about the benefits of friendship here.