Healthy Relationships Mean Better Life and Longevity

Human beings are social animals. Research shows that social relationships impact our physical health as blood pressure, smoking, physical activity, and obesity.

As we age, this social interaction and relations have a more significant impact on our well-being. The National Institute on Aging (NIH) says there is a strong correlation between social interaction and health and well-being among older adults and has suggested that social isolation may have significant adverse effects on older adults.

Good Relationships Mean Longer and Healthier Lives

Better relationships add to the quality of life and even longer life. The question is, what does a healthy relationship look like? Do you have at least one or more healthy relationships?

Northwestern Medicine explores the importance of relationships and overall health.

The NIH indicates:

• Social relationships are consistently associated with biomarkers of health.
• Positive indicators of social well-being may be associated with lower levels of interleukin-6 in otherwise healthy people. Interleukin-6 is an inflammatory factor implicated in age-related disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular disease, and some forms of cancer.
• Some grandparents feel that caring for their grandchildren makes them healthier and more active. They experience a strong emotional bond, often lead a more active lifestyle, eat more nutritious meals, and even reduce or stop smoking.
• Social isolation constitutes a significant risk factor for morbidity and mortality, especially in older adults.
• Loneliness may have a physical as well as an emotional impact. For example, lonely people frequently have elevated systolic blood pressure.
• Loneliness is a unique risk factor for symptoms of depression, and loneliness and depression have a synergistic adverse effect on well-being in middle-aged and older adults.

This information is crucial if you have an older family member. It is also important as part of your own future retirement planning. The financial costs and burdens of aging will impact your savings and can create tremendous burdens on loved ones. 

LTC Insurance is Helpful

An advance plan should include affordable Long-Term Care Insurance. LTC Insurance will not provide you with relationships, but it will provide resources for your choice of quality care that you will need as you get older.

Many policies have case management that will help you and your family find quality caregivers. Act before you retire and add peace of mind to your retirement plan.