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Are you taking steps now to invest in relationships with others who can help support you when you are older?

We need both solitude and community for quality brain health.

There are negative brain health implications of solo aging.

We should ask ourselves, to whom are we visible? Who would notice if we needed support?

Many of us understand the importance of protecting our brains from too much stress, poor sleep, and unhealthy diets. However, we may not devote enough time to considerations of our future relationships. The social connections we cultivate today may become a component of the strongest forms of brain care we have decades from now. Our brains weren’t designed to choose between having healthy solitude and having healthy community. Our brains flourish when we intentionally make room for both.

Previously, I’ve written about the need to unplug from various technologies and the need to avoid feeling obligated to always be available (e.g., responding immediately to text messages, emails, calls). Choosing solitude over these stressful social obligations is healthy. It gives our brains time for more opportunities to........

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