Hello there, I’m Jenny Saunders, the President of New Horizons. I want to talk to you today about the benefits of being socially active.
Many of us are now spending more time at home; you may be someone that has trouble leaving your home due to a disability. Just because you can’t go outside doesn’t mean that you can’t have a really fulfilling life! There are an endless number of resources online to keep you connected. Some of my favorites are using video chat, Facebook’s Portal, or Amazon’s Echo Show. They’ll help you stay connected to your friends and loved ones. You can also go online and play games or join groups with people with similar interests. Some good examples are Lumosity, CogniFit Brain, and Brain HQ. I personally love Lumosity.
Being socially active is so important because as people we need the human interactions to thrive. When we connect with others we have better cognitive function, less depression and we sleep better! We also tend to make better food choices even if we’re eating online with somebody.
I want to share a personal experience that I had recently. My mother is 83 years old and lives by herself. She had a fall which was really distressing for my sisters and I because we live so far away from her. I wanted to make sure if she fell again that she could reach out to somebody and I wanted to be able to contact her in a more meaningful way. So I purchased an Amazon Echo Show and now we’re talking face-to-face all the time. She also uses it to play Johnny Mathis or Elvis, which makes her really happy.
Thanks so much for listening. I hope some of this has been helpful to you.
