Participating in social activities and being connected with your community, family and friends seems to be good for your heart and your brain.  Doing more of this is associated with a lower risk of dementia.

Interacting with other people exercises your brain and builds connections between brain cells.  So it contributes to your brain reserve and protects you against dementia.

Be social in ways that you enjoy and by doing activities that interest you.  Find opportunities to mix with others in ways that you are comfortable with.

Mind your Social Life is one of the seven Mind your Mind signposts pointing you toward reducing your dementia risk.  The following pages explain why we believe social activity is important and provide some ideas for remaining socially connected as part of a healthy lifestyle.

Social activity and dementia risk – what’s the evidence that social activity reduces risk and why does it reduce risk?

Stay socially engaged – tips and ideas for enjoying a brain healthy social life