Socializing with others is important for mental health and wellbeing, and it may help improve cognition, as well — especially for older adults, according to new research.
In a study led by Ruixue Zhaoyang, assistant research professor of the Center for Healthy Aging at Penn State, the researchers found that when adults between the ages of 70 and 90 reported more frequent, pleasant social interactions, they also had better cognitive performance on that day and the following two.
Zhaoyang said the findings — recently published in the journal PLOS ONE — may have special relevance now due to social distancing mitigation measures throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our study is one of the first to show that whether you have social interactions on one day can immediately affect your cognitive performance that same day and also on the following days,” Zhaoyang said. “The fact that we…
