I love my mum. Even when I’m baffled at her randomly asking me how much it costs to get a tattoo or when I kind of want to strangle her after three hours of trying to give her tech support over the phone.
Still, if we go too long without chatting, the world seems to feel…wrong.
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Inevitably, this leads to us just waving at each other in Facebook Messenger.
We don’t really have the more exciting updates for each other, usually.
She tells me what’s up with my aunts, uncles, and cousins, and I update her on the latest shenanigans my dogs have gotten up to.
Though those short text convos are fun, it’s not the same as getting together in person.
Even if we don’t talk about much in person, just chilling out on the couch and watching a movie is enough. Closeness doesn’t necessarily require words.
In fact, for an introvert like me, chatting can sometimes be draining.
Companionship and family is important, though, and as a new study is showing, it’s particularly important as our parents grow older and may not be able to get around as easily.
Even if your mom, dad, or grandparents are still self-sufficient enough to live alone, they may not be able to make visits.
They may have let their drivers’ license lapse or are uncomfortable on public transit. If their kids don’t make it a habit of going to them, loneliness can set in.
It’s even harder if they’ve moved to a long-term care home.
They may be surrounded by other people their own age, but that’s not the same as regular visits from family and friends.
The study published in JAMA Internal Medicine is called “Loneliness in Older Persons A Predictor of Functional Decline and Death.” So yeah, make sure you’re visiting your older relatives regularly.
The study followed 1604 Americans over the age of 60 for six years and tracked any decline in their health.
They were asked to indicate if they felt left out, isolated, or that they lacked companionship.
They were ranked as “lonely” or “not lonely” based on the frequency of different answers over the course of those six years.
43% of those studied fell into the lonely category.
Out of all the participants, it was those categorized as lonely who showed higher rates of decline in four major health categories: Difficulty performing the activities of daily life, increased difficulty with tasks requiring upper extremities, decline in mobility, or difficulty climbing stairs.
Decline in all those categories is a sign of a higher risk of death.
So if you haven’t visited your elderly family members in a while, maybe it’s time to check in with them. It could make a big difference in their quality of life.
And don’t forget to call your mom.
