Connection is Healthy Habit
August 25, 2026
“The people around us matter.”
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We tend to think about longevity in terms of measurable things: blood pressure, cholesterol, exercise, nutrition, sleep and, increasingly, a collection of data generated by watches, rings and apps. Those things matter. But social connection belongs in the longevity conversation as well. In its 2023 advisory on social connection, the U.S. Surgeon General’s office reviewed a large body of evidence linking social connection with health and well-being and social isolation and loneliness with poorer health outcomes. That doesn’t mean having dinner with friends is a medical treatment. It does mean that relationships shouldn’t be dismissed as something separate from taking care of ourselves.
And there is an important distinction between being connected digitally and actually spending time with people. Technology can help maintain relationships across distance, and that is enormously valuable. But it shouldn’t automatically replace the neighborhood walk, the golf foursome, the family dinner, the volunteer group or the weekly gathering with friends. Longevity has become a sophisticated business filled with impressive science and technology. Yet one of the most sensible things we can do remains remarkably low-tech: get out of the house and spend time with people we enjoy.
The Takeaway: A longer, healthier life may have as much to do with the people we share it with as some of the things we measure.
