It’s morning. As your eyes slowly open to greet the day, what is the first thought that pops into your head? Perhaps you anticipate social plans, or maybe the needs of a spouse, pet, or child call for your attention.

The sense of purpose that gets us out of bed varies by the person and the day; yet no matter what form it takes, purpose proves essential for brain health and even protective from physical and cognitive decline.

Research About Having Purpose in Life

Researchers studying Alzheimer’s and other related dementias have identified that having a sense of purpose positively influences performance and confidence in key cognitive skills like memory and word finding (Sutin, et al., 2021.) Having a sense of purpose in life helps to organize and motivate daily actions, engage in productive relationships, often towards a greater goal.

Evidence shows that individuals with a higher sense of purpose are more resistant to behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (Kim et al, 2019). So, how do you ensure that your life has purpose?

Inspiring Purpose Later in Life

As older adults retire from the workforce and finish raising their families, finding a new sense of purpose is an important priority in order to support healthy aging.

Retirement can be a challenging transition for many people, especially if they have spent most of their lives working and identifying with their careers. However, retirement can also be an opportunity to explore new interests, hobbies, passions, and goals that can bring meaning and joy to one’s life.

Seeking inspiration on how to find or reinvigorate a sense of purpose?  Here are some suggestions to get you started:

• Join a local community organization, especially one with a mix of younger and older members or people with different interests that provide you an opportunity for continuing education
• Find online groups dedicated to areas of your passions and interests and share your stories and voice
• Volunteer; this act alone has tremendous physical and mental health benefits and there are so many different opportunities to find a volunteer activity that also fits your interests
• Consider adopting a pet; in addition to social-emotional support, pet ownership offers daily opportunities for physical activity and engagement.  Think out of the box when considering a pet.  Your new pet could be a goldfish or senior cat — think of the type of pet that fits your lifestyle.
• Cultivate a new hobby; learning a new and moderately challenging skill is a proven brain health booster

Enjoying Positive Benefits of Purpose

Whether pursuing longstanding passions or discovering new sources of inspiration, older adults with a clear sense of purpose improve the world around them, and enjoy the positive benefits along the way.

Living a purposeful life in retirement does not mean that you have to be busy all the time or do anything grandiose. It simply means that you have to find what makes you happy and fulfilled and do more of it. Retirement can be a rewarding and exciting phase of life to embrace with curiosity, optimism, gratitude…and purpose.

 

Contributed by: Lauren Schwabish, MS, CCC-SLP

Lauren Schwabish MS, CCC-SLP is the owner of Neuro Speech Services, a private practice based in Northern Virginia, specializing in person-centered assessment and treatment of cognitive-communicative disorders related to stroke, brain injury, mild cognitive impairment, ADHD, and other neurologic and neurodegenerative conditions.

Lauren received her Bachelor of Science degree with Honors in Communicative Disorders from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and holds a master’s degree in Communication Sciences from Hunter College of the City University of New York. She is licensed in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the state of Maryland and is a certified member of the American Speech Language Hearing Association.

She has over 23 years of experience working in hospitals and acute rehabilitation centers. And she is passionate about providing meaningful and accessible health education about the brain to patients, families, and healthcare professionals. Lauren is committed to empowering communities with evidence-based information and best practices in brain health behaviors.

Sources: Sutin, A. R., Luchetti, M., & Terracciano, A. (2021). Sense of purpose in life and healthier cognitive aging. Trends in cognitive sciences, 25(11), 917–919.

Kim, G., Shin, S. H., Scicolone, M. A., & Parmelee, P. (2019). Purpose in Life Protects Against Cognitive Decline Among Older Adults. The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, 27(6), 593–601.

Friends Life Care established the eMeetinghouse blog. to share purposeful information of interest to seniors and baby boomers.  Friends Life Care is a nonprofit organization founded and grounded on Quaker values.  And it is committed to helping Friends Life Care members and friends to live independently at home as they age.  So, If you have questions about membership, reach out to a a Friends Life Care Plan Counselor today.