Daily Experiences in Late Life Study

6 Health Benefits of Socializing Seniors - The Landings

The Daily Experience in Late Life project is funded by the National Institute on Aging to study how social interactions improve the health of older adults. Past research on the links between social interactions and health has been largely based on people’s self-reported physical activity, cognitive activity and social interactions. But people tend to overestimate their physical activity. This study will compare self-evaluations with actual in-the-moment measures. A group of 300 adults over the age of 70 from across Austin will participate in this study starting in August, 2016. Participants will start with a self-evaluation of physical activity and social interactions, as well as a test of cognitive abilities. Then, they will wear small, comfortable devices that assess their physical activity, sleep, and daily environments. Researchers hope to learn how older adults’ daily experiences translate into their emotional, cognitive, and physical heath.

This study was supported by grants from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), R01AG046460, Social Networks and Well-being in Late Life: A Study of Daily Mechanisms (Karen L.Fingerman, Principal investigator) This research also was supported by grant, 5 R24 HD042849 awarded to the Population Research Center (PRC) at The University of Texas at Austin by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).

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