ON TRACK

Finding a likeminded group to socialise with is more than just an enjoyable experience, JUDY RAFFERTY explains the extra health benefits.

Holidays such as Easter and Christmas are loaded with expectation: family, celebration, friends, festive meals. Yet perhaps it is unlikely that each and every year we will be surrounded by family and friends with whom to share these special annual events. Sometimes being alone on these holidays amplifies our feelings of loneliness and even of isolation.

As we age the meeting of new people can become more difficult. The easy avenues of incidental meetings, though our children or through our work, diminish. We lose friends through illness, relocations and even death. On the other hand, many times people have told me that after retirement they have managed to make friends more easily. They have found that their peers seem more open and interested in having contact. Perhaps people have more time and availability.

Having friends is an important factor in maintaining good health. Friends create a sense of belonging and the need to belong is a basic human condition. Without it we suffer from loneliness, increased stress, lowered mood, and reduced wellbeing. Connection to others reduces the risk of dementia. It can reduce the risk of disease and improve recovery speed. Having friends improves immune function and increases longevity. It improves our sense of self-worth so that, if we do live for longer, we can enjoy our longer life more.

Does your friendship list need

Do you need a top up? What might you do to actively find and create friendships?

Please don’t wait in hope for someone to find you and show interest in you. Reach out to other people.

Stay open to getting to know people. Friendships take time to develop. Perhaps risk your pride a little and take a chance by asking another person if they would like to catch up over coffee. If you are invited to something, say yes! Join a club or a group. Being open to new people and new experiences is a way of staying young at heart. Judy Rafferty is the author of Retirement Your Way, A Practical Guide to Knowing What You Want and How to Get It, at all good bookshops and online.

FRIENDSHIP FACTS

According to a 10-year study by the Centre for Ageing at Flinders University, a strong network of friends is more important than close family relatives for a prolonging life. People aged over 70, but having an extensive friendship network, tended to live 22% longer than those with less extensive networks. It is not surprising that there is further scientific proof, that the company of good friends reduces stress in your life. Additionally, if your best friends eats a healthy diet you are likely to do the same.

The first lamington was made in 1900 at Old Government House for Lord and Lady Lamington. French chef Armand Galland accompanied Lord and Lady Lamington to Brisbane in 1900. The lamington was born of necessity – it was Galland’s answer to the perennial problem of unexpected visitors coming up the path. He pulled from the pantry day-old French vanilla sponge cake, chocolate and coconut and whipped up the cake. It proved so popular that Lady Lamington was inundated with requests for the recipe and thus Galland named his treat in honour of his patrons. Brisbane is named after a former New South Wales governor who established the city’s original penal settlement in the 1820s. Sir Thomas Brisbane was also a keen astronomer, known for building Australia’s first astronomical observatory in Parramatta and charting the Southern Hemisphere’s stars. The Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium in Toowong is a tribute to his achievements.

Planted in 1858 by Sir Walter Hill, the first curator of the Botanic Gardens, the seed for the tree came from bushland near Gympie. Would you believe it still grows the nuts every year?

Brisbane’s link with the stars

The world’s first cultivated Macadamia tree lives in the City Botanic Gardens Your say, your rights in aged care

Advocacy support for older Queenslanders is important now more than ever. ADA Australia has been giving older rights for over 30 years. We support older people to access aged care services and resolve care related issues, through free, independent and Advocacy services are here for everyone. Call us on 1800 700 600.

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