Social Connection
The most readily recognisable pillars of a healthy lifestyle are usually regular exercise, a healthy diet and avoiding harmful substances. Yet one of the most powerful drivers of our health relates less to ourselves and much more to the people we surround ourselves with i.e. our social connections can have a dramatic effect on our own health.
The Blue Zones relates to the areas of the world that live the longest and the happiest. These areas, be they Mediterranean, Asian or American have many commonalties, some of which include living in a “tribe” or with like-minded individuals, living with purpose and often giving back to this same community. Research from these Blue Zones has found that forming and nurturing social networks can support healthy habits, improve lifespan and more importantly improve healthspan (1).
The TILDA study, the largest longitudinal study of older people ongoing in Ireland, has linked social isolation to a an increase in morbidity and mortality (2). Unsurprisingly, the burden of social isolation is heavily weighted towards lower socio-economic groups. Older age, existing disabilities or medical conditions, lack of access to transport and other environmental factors all contribute to loneliness.
With the further roll-out of social prescribing within the HSE, it may be more common in the future to “prescribe connection”. In fact, there already exists a thriving community sector with agencies such as ALONE and groups such as Men’s Shed leading the way in addressing the increasing levels of loneliness in our communities. There are also countless sporting organisations throughout Ireland, offering not only exercise and sporting education but also improving community resilience, with the GAA a notable example.
There are opportunities to enhance the quality and quantity of our social connections throughout our working and leisure time. It is not just Covid-19 and associated lockdowns that have had a negative impact on our social connections, but the myriad of distractions in our daily lives such as technological devices, longer working hours and long commutes.
Lifestyle Medicine seeks to bring some or all of these issues not only into our curriculums and consultations, but into our everyday conversations.
References
Buettner, D., & Skemp, S. (2016). Blue Zones. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, 10(5), 318–321. https://doi.org/10.1177/1559827616637066
Ward, M., Layte, R., & Kenny, R. A. (2019). Loneliness, Social Isolation, and their Discordance among Older Adults. Findings from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA). https://doi.org/10.38018/tildare.2019-03