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I recently heard Professor Luigi Ferrucci, an expert on ageing, speak at my local university’s medical school. One line really stuck with me: “The next great step in ageing science will be understanding how lifestyle factors slow down ageing.”

That, to me, is the ultimate goal. If we can slow the ageing process, we could delay or shorten the time we spend living with age-related illnesses. In other words, we might stay healthy for longer and only experience those diseases in the last few years of life, feeling younger and better overall.

As Ferrucci gave his talk, a new study was being published showing that one of the most surprising factors influencing ageing is our social life. It turns out that staying connected to others could slow how fast we age.

We’ve known for a while that people with strong social ties tend to live longer and enjoy better health. What’s been less clear is how our social connections affect our bodies on a biological level.

In this new American study of more than 2,000 adults, researchers looked at the strength and consistency of people’s social connections – things like family relationships, involvement in community or religious groups, emotional support and how active they were in their communities.

They devised a measure called “cumulative social advantage” (CSA) – essentially, how socially connected and supported someone is. This was a step forward because most earlier studies looked only at single factors like marriage or friendship.

The researchers then compared CSA to different measures of ageing. They looked at biological age (based on DNA changes, known as “epigenetic clocks”), levels of inflammation throughout the body, and how people’s stress-related hormones – such as cortisol and adrenaline – were behaving.

They found that people with stronger social connections tended to show slower biological ageing and lower inflammation. However, there wasn’t much of a link between social life and short-term stress responses, though the researchers suggested that this might simply be because those are harder to measure.

Altogether, the study adds to growing evidence that our social connections are closely tied to how we age. But perhaps we shouldn’t be too surprised. Humans have evolved over hundreds of thousands of years as social beings.

For our ancient ancestors, belonging to a group wasn’t just about company – it was key to survival. Working together kept us safer, helped us find food and supported our wellbeing. It makes sense, then, that our bodies have developed to thrive when we’re socially connected.

Rock painting of prehistoric people hunting together.
Social networks were important for survival on the African savanna. Gas-photo/Shutterstock.com

Social advantage

The study also found that social advantage is linked with broader inequalities. People with higher levels of education, better income or belonging to certain ethnic groups often showed slower ageing and lower inflammation. This suggests that both our social and economic circumstances affect how we age.

There seem to be two ways to respond to this. First, we need social policies that reduce poverty and improve education and opportunity, because these factors clearly shape health and ageing. But second, we also have some individual control. Strengthening our own social lives – staying connected, supportive and involved – can also make a difference.

I remember being in Washington DC in 2014 for the 40th anniversary of the US National Institute on Aging, where Ferrucci now serves as chief scientific director. During the event, someone asked the head of social sciences: “What will be the most important research area for the next century?” Without hesitation, he replied: “Social science and genetics.”

At the time, no such research programme existed – but he was right. As this new study shows, bringing together these two fields is helping us understand not just how we age, but how we might age better.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: James Goodwin, Loughborough University

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James Goodwin does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.