When Can a Cup of Tea and a Slice of Lemon Cake Save a Life?
As older women, we all want to make the world a better place. Unfortunately, we often feel powerless to make a real difference in the lives of others. Yes, we can donate to charities or support political organizations, but, the impact that we can make through these activities feels distant and fragmented.
Well, today, I want to tell you about a way that every single one of us can save a life. Best of all, all you need is a cup of tea and a slice of lemon cake. I’m being serious!
Social Isolation Kills… a Cup of Tea and a Slice of Cake is the Cure
I recently came across a meta-study (study of studies) that looked at the key factors that influence how long people live.
As a part of her research into the drivers of longevity, Julianne Holt-Lunstad or Brigham Young University reviewed 148 separate studies, involving over 300,000 adults.
What she found was that having close social ties and regular social interaction were the two factors that contributed most to how long participants lived.
If you can believe it, social isolation was a bigger threat than smoking, eating bad food or being overweight!
Separate studies have shown that small communities with strong social ties have more centenarians than other locations.
All this means that…
If you want to save a life, make friends with someone who is feeling socially isolated.
This doesn’t have to be a big deal. Most of us know of an elderly neighbor who doesn’t get many visitors. Simply making a habit of popping by once a month for a cup of tea and a slice of cake could make all the difference in the world.
Seriously, think about it for a minute. What would happen if the 500,000 women in the Sixty and Me community each decided to make a difference in the life of one person. We might be able to prolong the lives of 1000’s of people – not to mention enriching our own lives!
Have you ever gone out of your way to spend time with someone who was feeling lonely or a little isolated? Why do you think that staying social is so important for longevity? Let’s have a chat!
Tags Friendships
I am socially isolated. I lost my husband of 40 years to cancer two years ago. My only daughter and her husband live at the other side of the world. I find it difficult to make friends and joined a social group and quite enjoyed the lunches and meetings, but then I was unwell in January and ended up in hospital. For three months I heard very little from my new found friends and I was disappointed that nobody seemed to care why I had dropped off the radar. Since then I’ve decided I’m quite happy in my little bubble. I have a couple of friends who I see now and then but it’s hard to get out and about when you are recovering from illness.