--- title: In Old Age, Friends Can Keep You Young. Really description: Going to the ballpark, visiting friends and playing bingo are simple diversions for many of us. But for the elderly, these social pastimes may play... canonical: https://time.com/archive/6933607/in-old-age-friends-can-keep-you-young-really/ author: Anita Hamilton article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2009-06-24T04:00:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-23T04:17:43.155Z article:section: Health og:title: In Old Age, Friends Can Keep You Young. Really og:description: Going to the ballpark, visiting friends and playing bingo are simple diversions for many of us. But for the elderly, these social pastimes may play... og:url: https://time.com/archive/6933607/in-old-age-friends-can-keep-you-young-really/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt145ad8edf42c84df/698a4dd816d88446c6c3dcad/360_seniors_talking_0622.jpg?branch=production&width=360&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 360 og:image:height: 203 og:image:alt: 360_seniors_talking_0622.jpg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: In Old Age, Friends Can Keep You Young. Really twitter:description: Going to the ballpark, visiting friends and playing bingo are simple diversions for many of us. But for the elderly, these social pastimes may play... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt145ad8edf42c84df/698a4dd816d88446c6c3dcad/360_seniors_talking_0622.jpg?branch=production&width=360&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) # In Old Age, Friends Can Keep You Young. Really > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=306ea191-f486-444f-b68f-c843382bba4a&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) by [Anita Hamilton](https://time.com/author/anita-hamilton/) Jun 24, 2009 4:00 AM UTC  Senior citizens talking and playing backgammon Senior citizens talking and playing backgammon Kevin Dodge / Corbis by [Anita Hamilton](https://time.com/author/anita-hamilton/) Jun 24, 2009 4:00 AM UTC Going to the ballpark, visiting friends and playing bingo are simple diversions for many of us. But for the elderly, these social pastimes may play a critical role in preserving their physical and mental health. In fact, a new study suggests that the less time older people spend engaged in social activity, the faster their motor function tends to decline. “Everybody in their 60s, 70s and 80s is walking more slowly than they did when they were 25,” says Dr. Aron Buchman, a neurologist at the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago and lead author of the study, which was published in the June 22 issue of the _Archives of Internal Medicine_. “Our study shows the connection between social activity and motor function — and opens up a whole new universe of how we might intervene.” [(See how to prevent illness at any age.)](https://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1903873%5F1903802,00.html) An increasing body of evidence has suggested that participating in mentally stimulating activity, socializing frequently and exercising may help protect against age-related decline — at least cognitive decline. As early as 1995, neuroscientist Carl Cotman, who studies aging and dementia at the University of California at Irvine, published a paper in _Nature_ showing that physical exercise produces a protein that helps keep neurons from dying and spurs the formation of new neural connections in the brain. More recently, Cotman demonstrated in studies of elderly dogs and mice that enriching their social environment is associated with improvement in brain function. Researchers are also finding that social activity may be linked to the same protective effect in people. A recent study of 2,500 adults ages 70 to 79, published in the journal _Neurology_, found that those who were able to stay mentally sharp were also those who exercised once a week or more, had at least a ninth-grade literacy level and were socially active. [(Read “What Do Old People Know, Anyway?)](https://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1869319,00.html) But what has social activity got to do with motor skills? In Buchman’s study, which looked at 906 seniors, average age 80, in northeastern Illinois over a five-year period, increased social activity was associated with adeptness in a range of physical tasks, including walking in a straight line, standing one-legged and on tiptoes, turning full circle without falling and placing pegs on a board. On a social-activity scale of 1 to 5 — with 1 indicating participation in various social activities once a year, and 5 showing activity every day or nearly every day — a one-point difference in social activity corresponded to a five-year difference in motor function. With each one-point drop on the social-activity scale, study participants’ rate of physical decline increased 33%. In participants whose score fell one point over the course of a single year, that translated to a 40% increased risk of death and a 65% higher risk of a disability. “The idea that cognitive and physical function are connected is something that has just come out in the last few years. It is one of the new horizons in health care and prevention,” says neurologist and aging expert Dr. Joe Verghese of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, who published an article in the _New England Journal of Medicine_ in 2002 showing that changes in walking patterns could be an early sign of dementia. While further research needs to be done to establish the exact impact of social activity and exercise on specific age-related declines — it’s likely that a reduction in social activity may simply be a symptom of physical decline, since people may naturally withdraw from social engagement as they lose motor skills — most researchers would agree that it is not unreasonable to encourage seniors to get out there more. Only 10% of people over 65 get the recommended amount of exercise (at least 2.5 to 5 hours a week), and given that seniors already tend to be more socially isolated than younger adults, it’s difficult to motivate them to become more active. “If you are alone, you are less likely to follow recommendations,” notes Verghese. It might help, though, if you visit with Grandma more often and let her know that a regular pastime may just help her stay fitter and sharper longer. [See TIME’s Pictures of the Week.](https://www.time.com/time/picturesoftheweek) [See pictures of CNN host Larry King.](https://www.time.com/time/photoessays/10questions/0,30255,1899843,00.html) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/archive/6933607/in-old-age-friends-can-keep-you-young-really/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/archive/6933607/in-old-age-friends-can-keep-you-young-really/"},"headline":"In Old Age, Friends Can Keep You Young. Really","datePublished":"2009-06-24T04:00:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-23T04:17:43.155Z","description":"Going to the ballpark, visiting friends and playing bingo are simple diversions for many of us. 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