Senior Care Academy - A Helperly Podcast

The Power of Social Connection in Aging

• Helperly, Caleb Richardson • Season 4 • Episode 6

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Loneliness isn't just an emotional challenge for seniors—it's a serious health crisis that can literally shorten lives. When a spouse passes away after decades of marriage, the surviving partner often follows within a year, not from illness but from losing their reason to live. But it doesn't have to be this way.

This eye-opening episode dives deep into how social connection acts as a vital life force for aging adults. You'll hear powerful real-world examples, like a grandfather who survived six years after losing his wife thanks to a fishing buddy, and a 75-year-old woman crushing CrossFit workouts at 5 AM—a hobby she only started at 67. The science backs these stories: socially active seniors are 50% less likely to develop dementia, while isolation can lead to premature death and significantly higher risks of cognitive decline.

Despite their desire to stay engaged (over 70% of people over 60 want to continue traveling and trying new experiences), many seniors face barriers that keep them isolated. We explore practical solutions for overcoming social anxiety, health concerns, and other obstacles that prevent older adults from maintaining active social lives. Whether it's attending recurring events, pursuing lifelong learning, or simply finding creative ways to connect with peers, these strategies don't just add years to life—they add life to years. For caregivers and family members, this episode offers concrete steps to help your aging loved ones build meaningful connections that will sustain them physically, emotionally, and mentally through their golden years.

Want to transform a senior's life? Reach out to us at Helperly to learn how we can help create special social experiences tailored to your loved one's needs and interests.

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Speaker 1:

Welcome back to Senior Care Academy. This episode is just me talking about something I think is important, and so we're gonna be talking about how retirement isn't just about slowing down. It's about staying engaged, making new memories and enjoying life to the fullest. So in this episode today, I want to talk about a very important aspect of aging, which is how to stay socially active in your golden years. The reason why this is kind of top of mind is I've stumbled on some interesting statistics about social engagement and some use cases. So I want to start out with a use case.

Speaker 1:

I was talking to a friend this last week, actually about his grandpa. I want to say and there's a statistic out there that if you're married for 50 years and your spouse dies, you could be in perfect health and within 12 months the surviving spouse passes away at like 75% of the time. But his grandpa ended up living for like another six years and there's only one thing that he could attribute it to, and it was his social engagement. He had a reason to still live, and that's the reason why, in that scenario, when people pass after their spouse passes, it's because they don't feel like they have a person or somebody to live for, and so he got kind of lucky. One of his buddies his grandpa's buddies said hey, let's go fishing. And then it turned into this whole thing. They had this fishing group. They would do other stuff for six years and then, when that buddy died, had passed away his fishing buddy. It was within three months that his grandpa passed. And so just an anecdote to how important social engagement is. And even on on in my life, my grandma passed away a few years ago and my grandpa. They'd been married for almost 60 years and he and he's still going strong, and I think it has a lot to do with his son lives right down the road, he's very active in his church, he has animals and livestock on his ranch that require him to get up every single day, and so he has these things and he has a community and responsibilities that keep him alive. So, all to say that social engagement is vital not only for, like, emotional and mental, but even physical health.

Speaker 1:

There's studies that show that staying socially active can lower the risk of depression, cognitive decline, even heart disease. There's lots out there from COVID, basically, the studies about loneliness and isolation came out, where an older person can die three to five years earlier just because they feel lonely, or they have four times higher risk of premature death or dementia and all these things. So that's why I think it's really important. And then there was a national perspective. So the national institute of aging reports that socially active seniors are 50 less likely to develop dementia and they have lower stress levels. The Utah perspective the Utah Department of Health notes that nearly 30% of seniors in the state experience some sort of isolation which can negatively impact their well-being. Which is crazy if you're not inside of Utah Utah is a very family-centric state crazy if you're not inside of Utah Utah is a very family-centric state. And so if 30% of seniors inside of Utah are feeling this way, imagine what it is outside, where we don't have as big of families, we don't have as entwined, just general religious communities and things like that.

Speaker 1:

So today I want to talk about a few different ways that you can help your whether it's a client of yours and you're in the senior space, or a parent of yours or a loved one stay socially active. The first one is kind of obvious. It's attending social events and gatherings. So whether it's volunteer opportunities or the senior center or even church, like going and finding some organization that they can go to and making a habit out of it. So it's really nice to have recurring. Even if they're a huge sports fan, it's worth the couple thousand dollars that you'd spend getting season tickets to the jazz games, because then you're able to make friends with the people that you're sitting next to. It's something that they're able to start planning on and looking forward to and building that community around. Um, yeah, sports events, family gatherings, um something that my family does we do a family dinner once a month just things that they can look forward to. Um, local concerts, fairs. We're kind of getting to the tail end of the year where farmer's markets aren't as big but farmer's markets throughout the summertime, just getting out and being seen. Actually, today it was kind of fun. I was driving down the road and this isn't a social gathering, but I think it talks about what we're talking about right now. There was this older man when was I driving? I was in like Murray and he was sitting in his driveway in his wheelchair and every car that went past he just like big smile and he'd wave at it. So he waved at me and made my day, and I'm sure it makes his day when people wave back, and that's his effort to kind of be sociable.

Speaker 1:

The next is lifelong learning and hobbies. So I think a lot of people like myself included I played saxophone in junior high and high school and I haven't picked it up since, and so I forgot how, and I think that that's normal. Like a lot of people, they get busy and whatnot, and so now that they're in their retirement years, they have more time helping them be like okay, let's pick up the saxophone again, or let's pick up fishing again or whatever. Um, and that's to pick up old things, but also like learn new things. So take a knitting class or a painting class or a cooking class or go to a dance studio. There's so many places where one it keeps your brain active because you're trying to learn something new, but also it will keep your community active. You'll start making friends. We have a lady that we're going to have on the podcast here soon. She's 75 and she is still tearing it up at CrossFit at 5 am every morning. It's crazy, crazy, cool, but things like that. She didn't pick it up until she was. I think she was 65 or 67 when she started CrossFit, and so it's never too late to like try something new.

Speaker 1:

And then national opportunities. So lots of universities have free or discounted courses for seniors, like lifelong learning. If you wanted to, if you've always been curious about architecture or something, you can do a senior class and it's free. And then in Utah we have the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute that the University of Utah does. It offers courses for older adults. So if you're interested in Utah, we have the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute that the University of Utah does. It offers courses for older adults. So if you're interested in that, you can go to continueutahedu slash Osher O-S-H-E-R, which is a really cool resource.

Speaker 1:

And again, if you're listening for a loved one, just in passing, next time you go and see them instead of just talking about, like the weather or the news or like whatever's going on, take a minute and show them these sites, because they might be really excited and pick them up and get into it. So obviously all these things sound super great and super awesome and you're like, yeah, I want to help support my loved ones or the elderly people that I care for. Like, yeah, I want to help support my loved ones or the elderly people that I care for, but there's very clear barriers for socialization. So I want to talk now about how do you overcome these barriers, because some seniors there's another interesting statistica is that seniors it's like over 70% or something of people over 60 really want to continue traveling. They still want to do new things, they want to try new things, but they don't. And at the same time, there's all those people that have that desire, but then seniors that say they have an active bucket list drop to like less than 30% as soon as they turn 61, which isn't even like old.

Speaker 1:

And the biggest, the three biggest reasons why is one community Like they don't have friends to go out with or they're scared, and social anxiety and things. The second is health concerns. So whether it's like incontinence or medication reminders or you don't want to fall Um. And then the third is, of course, cost. But so we can handle a few of those with cost, um. I would just say, if you have an aging loved one, support them on that, on their desire to travel, um.

Speaker 1:

But overcoming the other ones, like the mobility issues or the lack of transportation or social anxiety. One I would say for the social anxiety and something that we actually try to do at Helperly is, say, you buy your parent season tickets to the jazz and you're like this is so great, I just spent a couple thousand trying to help mom get out in the community, but then she's not going to games and you're like what the heck is going on? It's probably has a little bit to do with the mobility or whatever, maybe, but social anxiety of like, well, I don't want to go sit next to strangers every single game or I don't want to go alone, or what happens if I get stuck getting into the game, or like all the what ifs, what ifs, what ifs that we have in our 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s the same worries that we have of trying something new. They have, except amplified because they're old, you know, and there's all these stigmas and whatnot. So the thing that we try to do before and what I would say is find a Facebook group or find a senior group or go to the first few games with them and see who else is a season ticket holder in that area and create the connections beforehand. Like, if you think about the dating scene today, people are DMing, swiping and all these things, talking to people before they ever, ever would even think about going and meeting them in person. So doing that for our aging loved ones or for our elderly clients is try to make these connections beforehand, get them introduced. Texting or even a phone call or emailing or like sending pigeon letters, I don't know whatever technology you want to use just get them connected to whoever's going to be inside of that organization, that club or whatever, so that way they have a built-in friend and they can be not going to a jazz game. They're going to a jazz game with Sue, you know, with their new best friend, and then with the health concerns that can be very real, especially when it comes to, like incontinence or lack of stability, mobility, and so what you can do with that.

Speaker 1:

That's one of the reasons why, with Helperly, we're starting to create that space where we can help seniors at these events, be kind of their the extra set of hands, but getting them the support that they need, even if it's you going as their daughter or son or grandkid, to just be there with them. Or it would not be difficult to find somebody that has whether it's in their community, their religious group or even hiring a company that has experience with caregiving to say, hey, do you want to? I'll pay for your ticket. Do you want to go to a jazz game? Um, it's a lot of fun, makes them feel more sociable and then it helps kind of curb that fear because they have somebody to grab onto if they're worried about stability, if they are stressed about being able to make it to the bathroom so they don't have any incontinence issues they have somebody there right next to them and then those are the big ones that they know.

Speaker 1:

Pre or making those friends. If you can, giving them like a week or two to get to know them before they go and hang out, treat it almost like a first date on a dating app. Like, give them time, you know, um, even new buddies. Like I go to networking events and whatnot and I'm like I don't know, I hope these people here like me. It'd be fun to like get to know them beforehand. Um.

Speaker 1:

And then kind of rounding it off, talking about the caregiver's role in encouraging socialization Um, so we talked a lot about this, but you as a caregiver, so taking care of your loved one, are you able to encourage them to participate in activities, set up social engagements and then join them on the outing? The way that I would bring it up. It sounds overly simplistic, but just ask Be like hey, what? What are my favorite questions? What's something you've always wanted to do but never have had the chance to? Or what is something you used to do?

Speaker 1:

Um, when I was 16, I was going out fishing with my grandpa and I like came to and realized like, oh my gosh, my grandpa's 76. That means he's been alive for 60 years before I was even born. Grandpa, what did you like to do when you were my age? And he talked about how he played donkey basketball, which I thought was crazy that even existed. But anyways, asking about what he used to like to do kind of led into other conversations of like things that oh, so I don't think donkey basketball is around anymore, but rodeos or like something like that where I could help get him excited about going to a rodeo, just asking, naturally.

Speaker 1:

And then I've found, probably at least 50% of the time, you kind of need to surprise them. They're not going to actively say like, yes, I would love to go to a rodeo with you, because they don't want to feel like they're a burden. But if you say, hey, we're going to a rodeo, I got these tickets, they are going to be thrilled that you want to feel like they're a burden. But if you say, hey, we're going to a rodeo, I got these tickets, they are going to be thrilled that you want to go with them. So I can encourage them. Start small, even if it's like a farmer's market or something free or just something where they can start making these friends, and then just help remind them of the benefits, to make it so that it's exciting for them. It's not a chore to go out and go to the farmer's market or go do these fun things and make these new friends. It's a way that makes it so. That way they can have the most fulfilling time of their life, like psychologically.

Speaker 1:

One of the things that help older adults stay engaged and excited and happy about life is having a community of peers in the same phase of life as them. So if you can help them get over that barrier of like feeling weird or not wanting to do it or having social anxiety like all of us do, then it's totally worth it and it can literally add years of life and years of their, your relationship with them. Um, like, I do anything to keep my grandpa alive for another decade so that way my son can ride horses with him, um, and so if it means helping him make friends at the rodeo, like I'm, it's worth this, the juice is worth the squeeze to help keep them around during that time. So those are kind of my thoughts. Today is just how important it is to have social connection, obviously with, like, their family and loved ones, but with their peer group out in the community. Making friends, doing things that they love um can keep their quality of life up and obviously all of their um emotional, mental, but definitely their physical health will increase just by having friends.

Speaker 1:

So that's my invitation this week is figure out a really uh, as easy of a way as you can to try to get them out in the community. If you need some help, help early. We actually have um corporate partnerships and things like that to make it a really special experience. So, like, if you're going to go to the jazz game, you can have the jazz bear come and say hi and we can help with the caregiver side of things. Um, it's super simple. And so if you want help, if you're running out of ideas or running out of hope and you need, you want them to be engaged in the community, but you don't know where to start. You can reach out to us and we will get you connected and get them out making new friends. And thanks for coming and listening to me talk about this for a little bit on Senior Care Academy.