Your health and wellbeing are paramount, yet they can be easy to overlook when you're busy earning a living and raising your family. Once you retire, remaining socially active can become even more difficult.
You may not have stopped to consider how much nourishment you can gain from spending quality time with friends, family, and colleagues. Indeed, lack of social connections could seriously damage your health.
Loneliness can devastate your health and reduce your longevity
Chronic loneliness can have a negative impact on your mental, cognitive, and physical health, and general wellbeing. In some cases, it can even affect your longevity.
The University of Michigan run an annual National Poll on Healthy Ageing. And polls from 2018 to 2023 have consistently shown that feeling isolated from others, feeling a lack of companionship, and experiencing infrequent social contact often lead to poorer physical and mental health among older adults.
Three of the concerning health risks associated with loneliness:
- The World Health Organization (WHO) have said that it is among the most significant global health concerns.
- The US surgeon general has warned that the mortality effect of being lonely is equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
- A study led by Harvard University found that chronically lonely people aged 50 and over had a 56% higher stroke risk.
While this all makes for scary reading, it’s important to remember that if you enjoy spending time alone, that’s not the same as feeling lonely. Indeed, solitude can be good for you – as long as that solitude is chosen.
Human connection is a vital component of a successful retirement
One of the benefits of being in work is that it provides companionship and a sense of belonging. If you don’t have relationships outside of work, you can soon feel lonely once those connections have gone.
This is especially true if you retired abroad or moved to a different part of the country when you stopped working.
Fortunately, there are ways to stay social in retirement and prevent feelings of loneliness. Here are three of them.
1. Join a group that focuses on something you find fulfilling
Getting involved in book clubs, film or theatre discussion groups, bridge classes, or community organisations can give you regular social slots in your diary and help foster a sense of belonging.
Alternatively, you could try some type of volunteering. This can be an excellent way to stay socially connected with others while also contributing to causes that you care about.
Start looking around your locality and you’re likely to find a variety of opportunities. With luck, you’ll discover a group of like-minded people who you’ll enjoy spending time with on a regular basis.
By focusing on something you enjoy, you may be fortunate enough to form deeper, more meaningful friendships that lead to one-to-one meetings outside the group setting, too.
A good starting point could be your local u3a branch – a global organisation that runs a wide range of classes, events and talks for retired or semi-retired people.
To find out what’s going on where you live, just type “u3a” into your search engine.
2. Stay physically active and socially engaged through exercise classes or team sports
Exercise classes, walking groups, or sports leagues not only benefit your physical health but also provide social opportunities. And it needn’t be overly energetic – even gentle forms of activity like gardening or tai chi alongside others can make a difference to your overall wellbeing.
If you love football but no longer have the strength or stamina to enjoy the sport at the usual pace, try walking football. As you’ll have guessed from the name, running or jogging is banned, and tackles must be made without physical contact.
Playing sport or taking part in some sort of physical activity releases endorphins, improving your mood and reducing feelings of loneliness and depression.
If you exercise in a group or class setting, you can benefit even more through a sense of camaraderie and shared goals – which makes walking football, walking netball, and even walking basketball particularly great endeavours if you’re getting a bit “long in the tooth”.
As well as the social upsides, staying physically active also helps maintain your overall health and reduces stress and anxiety, which are often linked to loneliness.
3. Learn a new skill and stimulate your mind
Taking classes or learning new skills by engaging in lifelong learning can provide excellent opportunities to meet new people.
Join a local community class, attend a college or university course, or simply find an online study group that teaches something that interests you. A fun by-product of stimulating your mind in this way is that you’ll potentially meet other people who share similar interests.
Whether you choose to learn a new language, take up a musical instrument, or explore a new hobby, keeping your mind active and engaged is great for your mental health.
Again, u3a almost certainly offers a range of possible choices that might suit you.
Get in touch
If you have any questions about your retirement plans – from a financial or social point of view – please get in touch. Email enquiries@alexanderpeter.com or give us a call on +44 1689 493455.
