Being socially active linked to satisfaction later in life

Do you want to live a good and satisfying life? Well, then you better become more social!

A German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) Study published in Psychology and Aging has found that being socially active and having social goals were both connected to life satisfaction later in life, and also appear to decrease and delay the start of late-life decline.

The study was completed using 2,900 people, two to four years before they died.

The participants were asked to score their lives on the following: how satisfied they were with their lives overall (all things considered), how much they participated in social activity, how important social activity was to them, and how much they valued their marriage or their relationships with their children, the publication reported.

"Our results indicate that living a socially active life and prioritizing social goals are associated with higher late-life satisfaction and less severe declines toward the end of life," Dr. Gerstorf, who led the study, was quoted as saying in medicalnewstoday.com.

"A socially engaged lifestyle often involves cognitive stimulation and physical activity, which in turn may protect against the neurological and physical factors underlying cognitive decline."

Do you believe being social helps with quality of life? Share with Bridget.