How can we avoid loneliness and social isolation as we age?

More than a third of people over the age of 50 feel lonely. And nearly as many feel isolated.

Meanwhile, studies show that being lonely can contribute to shorter lives, cognitive decline, physical deterioration and depression among older people.

Coming up at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, MPR News host Chris Farrell and his guests talk about how to connect the disconnected.

And we want to hear from you, too.

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If relationships are the key to a longer, happier life, what are you doing to build them? Or what questions do you have about how to help someone else in your life connect with others?

Call us during the 9 a.m. hour at 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828.  

Guests:

Marc Schulz is a professor of psychology and director of the Data Science Program at Bryn Mawr College. He is the associate director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development — an eight-decade-old longitudinal study of thousands of individuals from 724 families. And he is a co-author of the New York Times bestseller, “The Good Life: Lessons from the World's Longest Scientific Study of Happiness.”
Carrie Henning-Smith is an associate professor in the Division of Health Policy and Management at the University of Minnesota where she is also co-director of the Rural Health Research Center and the Rural Health Program.

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How can we avoid loneliness and social isolation as we age?

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