Aging experts reveal the secrets to staying active and enjoying life: “The retirement cliff is difficult”

Experts are warning of the effect that loneliness and social isolation can have on senior citizens’ health - and are encouraging older adults to nurture an active, socially engaged lifestyle in their retirement years.

How can loneliness and social isolation harm health?

Noting that around a third of all seniors in America live alone, the U.S.’s National Institutes of Health (NIH) explains that older adults are particularly vulnerable to experiencing insufficient social contact.

According to the NIH’s National Institute on Aging (NIA), scientific studies have shown that such a scenario can be linked to the development of numerous health problems. These include heart disease, depression and cognitive decline.

Such adverse effects on human health, the NIA says, can be influenced by behaviors commonly associated with lonely and socially isolated individuals.

Senior citizens living in this situation “may get too little exercise, drink too much alcohol, smoke, and sleep poorly”, the NIA says.

On the other hand, the organization explains, “people who engage in meaningful, productive activities with others tend to live longer, boost their mood, and have a sense of purpose.”

How can I avoid social isolation and thrive in my senior years?

• Plan what you’re going to do after retirement:

A sudden feeling of lack of purpose may be a factor that contributes to a less active, more socially disengaged lifestyle after the end of your professional career.

“The retirement cliff, so to speak, is very difficult for individuals who have been working a lifetime,” Dr. John Batsis, a geriatrician at the University of North Carolina, tells CNN.

Speaking to the seniors association AARP, retirement expert Kerry Hannon agrees: “We retire from something, but many of us fail to figure out what we’re retiring to.”

Hannon urges seniors to start planning what they’re going to do with their retirement at least five years before they stop working.

Identify pastimes that “inspire you [and] motive you”, she recommends. AARP’s Bruce Horovitz adds: “Write down things you want to do and places you want to go that you haven’t had time for.”

For instance, one recently retired librarian in Rochester, New York, has set herself the goal of catching up on a list of several hundred books she didn’t get around to reading during her working life.

Once she has ticked a title off her list, she discusses her reading experience in an online blog, trading reviews and comments with a community of fellow bookworms.

• Look after your social connections:

“We are always going to have changing circumstances, and growing older brings a lot of challenge […],” the gerontologist Dr. Kerry Burnight tells CNN.

“The ones who age well are the ones that adapt, meaning they’re able to accept and even embrace change.”

After retirement, one major way older adults may have to adapt is in their nurturing of friendships.

For instance, retirees suddenly lose a major source of social relationships by no longer spending much of the week in the company of work colleagues.

Pauline Johnson-Zielonka, the founder of the firm Retirement Life Plan, tells AARP that work friendships are susceptible to “fizzl[ing] out” after you retire. It’s likely that you will need to invest significant energy into maintaining them.

Meanwhile, Burnight advises seniors to try to foster a diverse “social portfolio”.

“Socially we want to have friends of different ages, friends from your neighborhood, as well as friends from the past,” she explains to CNN.

• Build exercise into your social interaction:

As you continue to cultivate social connections, it’s important to remain as physically on the go as you possibly can, too.

“Find ways to exercise with others, such as joining a walking club or working out with a friend,” says the NIA, which recommends two and a half hours of “moderate-intensity activity” per week.

• Be open to new experiences:

An active, socially engaged lifestyle will also benefit from a willingness to weave new experiences into your senior years, Burnight tells CNN.

“New experiences activate neuro plasticity […] that is our brain’s ability to keep growing,” she says. “If you do the same things you’ve always done, you’re really not setting yourself up for continued growth.”

In recent study by a team of researchers led by UCLA psychologists Alan Castel and Mary Whatley, senior citizens who displayed an ongoing thirst for discovery were linked to a reduced vulnerability to dementia.

“Older adults who maintain curiosity and want to learn new things relevant to their interests may be able to offset or even prevent Alzheimer’s disease,” UCLA said in a press release in May.

“Conversely, those who show muted curiosity and disinterest may be at risk for dementia.”

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