Relationships Keep Your Memory Sharp

You need to thank you friends and family for more than just the memories they create with you -- spending time with them helps you keep the memories you already have too.

As we age, some loss of memory seems inevitable. You can influence how quickly your memory declined to exercising your brain with mental fitness activities and brain training games and programs. You can also protect your memory by staying in touch with friends and family.

Friends and Families Protect Memory

The more connected a person is, the slower the memory decline. What that means is that having many relationships and maintaining those relationships as you age is a great way to keep your brain young. A 6-year study of more than 16,000 Americans aged 50 and older examine memory loss, aging and social connections. Researchers tested memory by how accurately the subjects recalled a 10 word list immediately after seeing it and after some time had passed. The average score declined by one point over the six years of the study.

Marriage, Volunteering and Contact With People

Research participants were also asked about whether they were married, if they volunteered, and how often they had contact with their neighbors, children and family members. Those with more social interactions have slower rates of memory decline over the 6 year period.

Why Relationships and Memory are Linked

The “why” question behind research studies is always tough. There are a number of reasons that memory and social connections/relationships are linked. To get to the “why” question you have to consider other reasons that could explain the association between social connections and memory. Here are some examples that could explain the link:

• A person who is “age well” may have more energy to dedicate to keeping up with friends and family.
• A person with chronic illness may have trouble also staying connected and participating in activities such as volunteering.
• People who are more socially connected may have personality traits (like being an extrovert) that help them get better medical care by asking more questions and seeking out help.

These are just examples of other reasons that may explain at least a part of the link between memory and relationships; but I think there is something that links brain health to social interactions if, for no other reason, that social relationships are complicated. Just think, if crosswords or memory games can improve health because they give the brain a “workout" how much more complicated are our dealings with people. Relationships provide emotional, contextual, communication and a great deal of other stimulation to the brain. These complex interactions of people with their different agendas, emotions, experiences and reaction must be something of an ultra-marathon for the brain.

Maybe the best thing for mental fitness would be to put down the puzzle book, turn off the TV and go out and find some people to interact with.

_Source(s):

Karen A. Ertel, ScD, M. Maria Glymour, ScD and Lisa F. Berkman, PhD. Effects of Social Integration on Preserving Memory Function in a Nationally Representative US Elderly Population. July 2008, Vol 98, No. 7 | American Journal of Public Health 1215-1220.