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I really wonder how much of this is due to loneliness and how much is just a lack of mental and social stimulation. If you're looking at groups of elderly peopl

I really wonder how much of this is due to loneliness and how much is just a lack of mental and social stimulation. If you're looking at groups of elderly people and seeing stronger effects over 65 you're probably getting a lot of frequently housebound folks who don't often interact with others and may not be doing/seeing/experiencing a lot of new things outside of what comes on TV. Some elderly people may not even be able to do the old things they used to love, or at least not do them as often. I'd really like to see this sort of result shown in people who are routinely active, engaged in hobbies they enjoy, and surrounded by/interacting with many people but who still report prolonged feelings of loneliness. Plenty of lonely people out there meet that criteria. Busy, surrounded by people, but still feeling loneliness. If there are impacts to memory for them as well it would more strongly suggest it was the loneliness that was the issue and not isolation, boredom, depression, lack of simulation etc.

nickff 4y ago
The active people will also be generally healthier, and sleep better (which is critical to memory formation). This would be a much more interesting study, though I suspect it would have a much less interesting result.
- autoexec 4y ago
  > his would be a much more interesting study, though I suspect it would have a much less interesting result. That's my suspicion as well, which makes me hope studies like this don't result a bunch of wasted time/money while people go looking to solve the wrong problem. I'm not prone to feelings of loneliness, but my memory has never been great and I'd like to keep what I have for as long as I can. As I get older I plan to keep learning and engaged in various passions to help keep my mind sharp, and for now at least, I've still got a lot of options, but I'm sure the temptation to not bother doing even the things I enjoy will grow stronger with age. Arthritis or carpal tunnel will take away the instruments and the video games, eye sight problems could make reading harder, bad joints and mobility problems could make travel and outdoor activities less appealing. At a certain point, I could see hitting a wall where the effort doesn't feel worth it and it gets harder to find things to keep my mind active. Fortunately, that won't (fingers crossed) become an issue for a few decades yet in my case, but it's been in the back of my mind for a while, and I'll be looking out for signs of that struggle in my parent's lives as they age.

nickff 4y ago

The active people will also be generally healthier, and sleep better (which is critical to memory formation). This would be a much more interesting study, though I suspect it would have a much less interesting result.

autoexec 4y ago
> his would be a much more interesting study, though I suspect it would have a much less interesting result. That's my suspicion as well, which makes me hope studies like this don't result a bunch of wasted time/money while people go looking to solve the wrong problem. I'm not prone to feelings of loneliness, but my memory has never been great and I'd like to keep what I have for as long as I can. As I get older I plan to keep learning and engaged in various passions to help keep my mind sharp, and for now at least, I've still got a lot of options, but I'm sure the temptation to not bother doing even the things I enjoy will grow stronger with age. Arthritis or carpal tunnel will take away the instruments and the video games, eye sight problems could make reading harder, bad joints and mobility problems could make travel and outdoor activities less appealing. At a certain point, I could see hitting a wall where the effort doesn't feel worth it and it gets harder to find things to keep my mind active. Fortunately, that won't (fingers crossed) become an issue for a few decades yet in my case, but it's been in the back of my mind for a while, and I'll be looking out for signs of that struggle in my parent's lives as they age.