Have a Heart-to-Heart
If your friends and family are far away, it might break your heart -- literally. Staying in touch could make all the difference.
Add hardship to heartache: Loneliness increases your risk of heart disease. But being alone doesn't necessarily mean being lonely. Stay in touch through e-mails, phone calls, and, whenever you can, face-to-face visits. The social connection may keep you healthier by providing a coping mechanism for stress -- a major contributor to aging and disease.
More ways to decrease any chance of loneliness include:
- Keeping track of birthdays and anniversaries and sending thoughtful notes by mail
- Joining a weekly reading group
- Researching and taking part in local causes, such as feeding the homeless or cleaning up the environment
- Attending cooking classes
- Joining online groups whose members have similar interests
- Volunteering your skills to local nonprofit groups
- Walking dogs at your local shelter
- Starting a lunchtime walking group with neighbors or coworkers
Whatever you do to connect with people, just like the old song goes, make new friends, but keep the old. It'll do your heart a world of good.
RealAge Benefit:
Having a good social support system of family and friends can make your RealAge up to 3.5 years younger.
RealAge Smart Search: Find more information on social support and your health with these hand-selected articles.
Loneliness in everyday life: cardiovascular activity, psychosocial context, and health behaviors. Hawkley, L. C., Burleson, M. H., Berntson, G. G., Cacioppo, J. T., Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003 Jul;85(1):105-120.
