Long-Time Friendships and Healthy Aging: Why Old Friends Matter More as We Get Older

Dana and I have known each other practically our entire lives. We were one and two years old when our families moved into the same development and became friends, which is how we became friends too.

That doesn’t mean we were always close. There were years when life took us in different directions and we weren’t nearly as connected. Thankfully, Facebook brought us back into each other’s lives, and over the last seven or eight years, we’ve become very close again.

Yes, we work together helping people get healthy, and having that shared purpose has given us another reason to stay connected. But our friendship is so much bigger than work.

Recently, I got to spend some time with Dana. We had dinner, hung out and had time to just be together. There’s something about being with a friend who has known you for almost your entire life that feels a little like coming home. There’s so much history you don’t have to explain.

And maybe that’s another piece of aging well that we don’t talk about enough. We talk about eating well, moving our bodies, building muscle, sleeping and taking care of our health. All of those things matter. But connection matters too. Research continues to show that strong social relationships are associated with healthy aging, in particular better physical and cognitive health.

I’m realizing that part of aging well is also taking care of the relationships that have taken care of us. I’m very grateful this is one of mine.