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The latest news on this change — carefully culled from the world wide web by our change agents. They do the surfing, so you don't have to!
Friendships Keep You Sane
Sure, chatting with our best friends or catching up with our relatives energizes us and feels good, but it could have a health benefit as well. A new study shows that older women who maintain friendships and family connections are less likely to develop a dementia health diagnosis than women who have few social ties. In fact, the women with more social contacts were about 26% less likely to develop dementia than the women with fewer contacts.
The study adds to other research that has shown adults who live alone or who have no close relationships are at an increased risk for dementia and Alzheimer’s disease compared to sociable adults.
What is about connecting with the ones you love that seems to protect our minds? Could it be that without these interactions our minds tend to lose sense of reality—sort of a “use it or lose it” mentality? When was the last time you spoke to your parent/child or best friend? [WebMD]
My parents lived in their own home until the city,(Denver)decided to build the "biggest mall in the world", at which time the whole neighborhood was bulldozed for parking. They moved into an independent living facility & lived there another 9 years. They passed at 94 & 98. They were clear of mind to the day they died, I believe, because they were around other people. They made friends and participated in the activities & some of the hobbies at the home.