Loneliness can sneak up as you grow older, especially if you lose your spouse, as Lynne Nichols did. In a 2012 study, 43 percent of people over 60 reported feeling lonely. That study and others have shown that lonely or socially isolated seniors are at a greater risk for functional decline, memory loss, stroke and heart disease. We asked recreational therapist Denise Leonhardt, life enrichment and wellness director at the Good Samaritan Society in Waconia, Minnesota, for tips on active aging and preventing loneliness.
Get involved. Bible study, fitness classes, choir, game nights, garden club…the type of activity, as long as you enjoy it, isn’t what matters most. “It’s more about the social interaction, which alleviates loneliness,” says Leonhardt. “All of our programs bring people to a common area so…