• Posted August 13, 2026

Socializing: A Prescription For Healthier Brain Aging

Imagine heading to a doctor’s office for memory problems and getting a prescription to hang out with friends.

Prescriptions calling for “doses” of social engagement could help seniors’ brains age more gracefully, a new study says.

Activities like bingo, church gatherings or a trip to the movies could be the best supportive medicine for brain function, researchers reported Aug. 12 in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.

Higher levels of social engagement were linked to slower brain aging and better cognition among more than 6,000 seniors. The older adults participated in a U.S. health and aging study. 

Participants filled out a form assessing participation in nine types of social activities, including: whether they were married, living with others, driving places, going out for entertainment, participating in clubs or classes, attending religious services, visiting family and friends, working for pay or performing volunteer work.

Seniors with more active social lives had better memory and were more capable of thinking, organizing and planning, researchers found.

The more they were involved in social engagements, the more cognitive benefits they received.

Integrating these activities could boost the effects of other healthy aging programs like SilverSneakers classes and aging-in-place initiatives, researchers said.

“By linking measurable social behaviors to specific brain systems and long-term cognitive health, this work provides a biological foundation for social prescribing,” lead researcher Dr. Cynthia Felix said in a news release. She is a postdoctoral associate in psychiatry and geriatrics at the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. 

Researchers said the study may help develop more solutions against the estimated 78 million people who will have dementia by 2030. 

“It helps clinicians and communities recommend targeted social activities as part of healthy aging and dementia prevention,” Felix said.

More information

The National Institute on Aging has more about cognitive health.

SOURCE: University of Pittsburgh, news release, Aug. 12, 2026