Having lots of friends and a strong social network improves quality of your life and keeps memory sharp, says a new study.
The study by Ohio State University shows that humans and animals living in groups have better memories and healthier brains than those who live in isolation or in pairs.
“Our research suggests that merely having a larger social network can positively influence the aging brain,” says lead researcher Elizabeth Kirby of the Neurological Institute at Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center.
In their experiments to test memories of mice paired as a couple and mice housed in a group of six or more, Kirby and her team found that the mice in the group fared much better in memory tests.
Experiments were carried on the mice which were in the age group of 15 months to 18 months – a time when they start suffering memory decline.
In one memory test, the mice were challenged to recognize a toy that had been moved to a new location.
The mice that lived as a couple had no idea that the toy has been removed, but the mice living in a group went to the toy in a new location, ignoring another toy that had not moved.
Age erodes the functioning of the hippocampus area of the brain, but this research shows that exercise and social networking can help preserve memory.
So go out and become part of bigger groups to keep your mind and memory sharp.
