THE FUN SECRET TO LIVING LONGER

Hint: It’s your relationships with friends, family, even Fido.

- AMY PATUREL,MS, MPH

AT 87 YEARS young, Elizabeth Gaylynn Baker is at the top of her game. A social media "granfluencer" thanks to her role on the hit TikTok channel Retirement House, Baker is helping to revolutionize the way we think about aging. She has acted on stages across the country, authored two books, and wrote and directed We Know Not What We Do, an award-winning documentary about climate change-all during her 80s.

Whether she's premiering a new film, lunching with friends, or playing with her three grandchildren, Baker makes a point of connecting with others. She says it's her relationships and sense of purpose that sustain her. And she's probably on the right track. Research shows that social connectedness is more important to health and longevity, also known as healthspan, than kicking a 15-cigarette-a-day smoking habit.

On the flip side, studies link poor social support with a 51 percent increased risk of heart disease, a 50 percent increased risk of developing dementia, and a 32 percent increased risk of stroke. And a 2023 study published in the journal Psychiatry Research reported that having insufficient social connections boosts a person's odds of premature death by a whopping 63 percent. U.S.

Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, MD, sounded alarm bells in 2023 with an advisory to address what he calls "an epidemic of loneliness and isolation" in America.

"We have an obligation to make the same investments in addressing social connection that we have made in addressing tobacco use, obesity, and the addiction crisis," Murthy wrote. He's not wrong. Results from the Harvard Study of Adult Development, which followed participants for more than 80 years, show that strong relationships are the greatest predictor of longevity, even more than genetics.

Why Relationships Matter