As we get older and start to build our own lives, it’s natural that quality time with our parents and grandparents tends to decline. After all, we have careers, relationships, and potentially kids to keep up with, so it’s hard to find time to spend with Mom or Grandma (or Dad or Grandad). However, you need to clear your schedule and go and see the older people in your life because it just might save theirs.
- Hanging out with older adults is important. According to a study conducted by the University of California in San Francisco, loneliness is one of the biggest predictors of “functional decline and death” in the lives of older adults. The fact is that not having regular company and social interaction can lead to premature death in senior citizens, and no one should have to face that fate.
- We all have needs. While it’s important to indulge in “me time” and be comfortable in your own company, there’s also a basic human need for companionship at whatever level, be that from family, friends, romantic partners, pets, etc. Isolation and the loneliness it causes can not only be depressing, it can be downright fatal.
- That need never goes away. As Barbara Moscowitz, senior geriatric social worker at Massachusetts General Hospital, told the New York Times, “The need we’ve had our entire lives — people who know us, value us, who bring us joy — that never goes away.” In fact, that connection with our fellow human beings could grow even greater the older we get since we become more aware of the limited amount of time we have left on the planet.
- Go and visit your parents and grandparents, people! You don’t have to stay for hours on end or even do it every day. If you can’t physically get to see the elderly people in your life, at the very least pick up the phone and give them a call. Even hearing your voice could just brighten their day and extend their life. Not only that, but it will also enrich yours, as the people who’ve lived much longer lives have plenty of experience to share with us. You’ll be glad you made the time for them.
