By Russell Schwartz, Executive Director
Professionals working in assisted living retirement communities are generally quick to point out that these communities function under a social, rather than a medical, model of wellness. In other words, an assisted living community has a different focus than a hospital where patients with acute illnesses receive intense medical treatment. While assisted living residents may receive in-house nursing or rehabilitation services and take medications for various conditions, meaningful interpersonal relationships, engaging social events, and programming to support vibrant and purposeful living are the primary tools used to promote senior resident wellness. This social approach to wellness can both prevent illness and promote healing.
In the Old Testament book of Genesis, God declared, “It is not good for man to be alone.” Twenty-first century scientific research has, in fact, arrived at the same conclusion. In their book Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection, John T. Cacioppo and William Patrick, writing within the framework of human evolution, review the findings of numerous investigations exploring the effects of loneliness on physiological, cognitive, and social wellbeing. Evidence suggests that loneliness, particularly chronic loneliness which endures over a prolonged period, negatively impacts the immune system, alters regulation of DNA transcription, hinders cognitive functioning, impairs emotional intelligence and social behavior, reduces impulse control, increases pleasure seeking behaviors (which are often destructive), and may even increase a person’s risk of dementia. The effect of loneliness on the immune system includes a decreased or delayed immune response, which may increase an individual’s risk of infection and cancer, and increased or prolonged inflammation, which results in a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
While chronic loneliness is a detriment to health, connectedness is a prescription for wellness. Developmental psychologist Susan Pinker explores the body of modern research, uncovering and validating the health benefits of positive human relationships in The Village Effect: How Face-to-Face Contact Can Make Us Healthier, Happier, and Smarter. Pinker provides reports of decreased cancer and dementia rates, increased cancer survival rates, decreased infant mortality, decreased physiological stress response, increased coping ability, and increased longevity as just some of the advantages of meaningful, face-to-face human interactions. Assisted living professionals labor to create an environment where these positive relationships can flourish. I often say residents do more for the emotional and physical health of one another than our staff could ever hope to accomplish. It’s true – interpersonal relationships are powerful medicines.
As we age, our social networks can change significantly. Our children grow up and begin busy lives of their own, friends or a spouse may pass away, and difficulty driving may reduce our ability to continue to maintain the same level of social contact we have enjoyed in the past. For many seniors, living in a retirement community enhances their opportunities to regularly engage in the social interactions that are so vital to health and wellness. Whether the activity is line dancing, singing around the piano, playing shuffle board, volunteering at the local food bank, going to a musical or theatrical production, or just having lunch with friends, an assisted living community is intentional about providing opportunities for social interaction within a culture designed to encourage and support mutually beneficial relationships between residents. The vibrant, friendship-promoting culture within these communities is not only bringing joy to daily living, it is also supporting physical, emotional, and mental health.
For more information about senior living, you may contact Meadows Senior Director of Marketing Holly Hall at 309-268-1501. Meadows offers a full range of senior living options—Independent Living, Independent Living-PLUS, Assisted Living, Memory Care, Skilled Nursing Care and Rehab Therapy—with two locations: Meadows Mennonite Retirement Community in Chenoa and Meadows at Mercy Creek in Normal.