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    "original_url": "https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/08\/07\/well\/mind\/super-agers-social-connections.html?emc=edit_nn_20260924&nl=the-morning&segment_id=226986",
    "parsed_content": "AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTSupported bySKIP ADVERTISEMENTThe One Quality Most \u2018Super-Agers\u2019 ShareAfter 25 years of research on this notable group, here\u2019s what stands out.Listen \u00b7 5:43 min Share full article\u201cSuper-ager\u201d Ralph Rehbock, 91, is part of a men\u2019s singing group called the Meltones. They meet every week.Credit...Lyndon French for The New York TimesBy Dana G. SmithAug. 7, 2025Leer en espa\u00f1ol\u9605\u8bfb\u7b80\u4f53\u4e2d\u6587\u7248\u95b1\u8b80\u7e41\u9ad4\u4e2d\u6587\u7248Sign up for The Ethicist newsletter, for Times subscribers only. Advice on life\u2019s trickiest situations and moral dilemmas from the philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah. Get it sent to your inbox.Ralph Rehbock, age 91 and a Holocaust survivor, has a lot on his calendar. On the first Friday of every month, he joins a group of older men at a synagogue outside of Chicago for a meeting of MEL: Men Enjoying Leisure. Every Friday afternoon, he performs classics from the 1930s and 40s with the Meltones, the club\u2019s singing group. And he\u2019s shared his story of escape from Nazi Germany with thousands of school children over the years, through his work with the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center.Leigh Steinman, 82, spends much of his time working on art projects with the children who live in his Chicago neighborhood and watching the Cubs play at Wrigley Field, which is just a block away. Mr. Steinman worked at the stadium as a security guard for 17 years before retiring at the beginning of the pandemic (his prior career was as an advertising copywriter). But he still walks over three or four times a week during the summer to see former co-workers and fellow fans.Mr. Rehbock and Mr. Steinman are both considered \u201csuper-agers,\u201d people 80 and up who have the same memory ability as someone 20 to 30 years younger. Scientists at Northwestern University have been studying this remarkable group since 2000, in the hopes of discovering how they\u2019ve avoided typical age-related cognitive decline, as well as more serious memory disorders like Alzheimer\u2019s disease. A new review paper published Thursday summarizes a quarter century of their findings.Super-agers are a diverse bunch; they don\u2019t share a magic diet, exercise regimen or medication. But the one thing that does unite them is \u201chow they view the importance of social relationships,\u201d said Sandra Weintraub, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, who has been involved in the research since the start. \u201cAnd personality wise, they tend to be on the extroverted side.\u201dAdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTThis doesn\u2019t surprise Ben Rein, a neuroscientist and the author of the forthcoming book, \u201cWhy Brains Need Friends: The Neuroscience of Social Connection.\u201d\u201cPeople who socialize more are more resistant to cognitive decline as they get older,\u201d Dr. Rein said. And, he added, they \u201chave generally larger brains.\u201dResearchers think that may be because socializing could help to protect against declines in brain volume that happen with age and isolation. Loneliness, which is particularly common in older adults, can increase levels of the stress hormone cortisol, and if cortisol is elevated for long periods of time it can lead to chronic inflammation. That, in turn, could damage brain cells and even increase the risk for dementia.By being more social in old age, super-agers may avert some of the atrophy. An analysis included in the new paper backs this up: The brain volume of super-agers tends to be more on par with 50- and 60-year-olds than with their octogenarian and nonagenarian peers.ImageMuch of super-ager Leigh Steinman\u2019s socializing takes place at Wrigley Field, where he watches the Chicago Cubs and catches up with old friends.Credit...Lyndon French for The New York TimesAnother notable difference is that super-ager brains tend to have more of a special type of cell, called von Economo neurons, that is thought to be important for social behaviors and is only found in highly social mammals \u2014 namely apes, elephants, whales and humans.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTAll those von Economo neurons \u201cprobably help them build and maintain powerful, strong social connections and social networks,\u201d said Dr. Bill Seeley, a professor of neurology and pathology at the University of California, San Francisco. And that may have \u201ca far-reaching effect on their overall well-being and health.\u201dBut, Dr. Seeley added, this is likely just one of \u201ca whole suite of neurobiological advantages that puts them in such good shape at this stage in life.\u201dFor example, almost all 80-year-olds have signs of Alzheimer\u2019s disease in their brains (whether or not they have the condition), but some super-agers have little to none. In addition, in super-ager brains, the functioning of a neurochemical that is important for attention and memory is better preserved.Dr. Sofiya Milman, a professor of medicine and genetics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, studies healthy centenarians. She said that they also tend to be extroverted and \u201chave a positive outlook on life.\u201dAdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTThere is a \u201cchicken and the egg\u201d conundrum, though. A person with better cognitive functioning may be more eager to go out and socialize, compared with someone who feels like their memory is declining. \u201cWhether it\u2019s the socialization that leads to maintenance of better cognition, or whether it\u2019s the better cognition that leads to more socialization, I think it\u2019s still open to debate,\u201d Dr. Milman said.Unfortunately, forcing yourself to be more social probably won\u2019t be enough to turn you into a super-ager. Dr. Weintraub said super-agers\u2019 preternatural ability likely comes down to their genetics and biology, as well as their behaviors.But to Mr. Steinman, the importance of seeing his neighbors and friends at the ballpark is clear. \u201cI think the sociability of Wrigley Field and where I live, my block, that\u2019s what\u2019s kept me going all this time,\u201d he said.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT",
    "published_at": "2025-08-07T11:00:06+00:00",
    "author_name": "Dana G. Smith",
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    "ai_headline": "The One Quality Most \u2018Super-Agers\u2019 Share",
    "ai_simplified_title": "Northwestern Researchers Identify Social Connection as Key for Super-Agers",
    "ai_excerpt": "After 25 years of research, scientists at Northwestern University found that 'super-agers' (people 80+ with younger memory ability) are united by the importance they place on social relationships and tend to be extroverted.",
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