Research Hit: Social Connection Protects Against Cognitive Decline

A new study shows that social connection boosts cognition in perimenopausal women

You have reported on the benefits of attachment, relationships, previously. Isn’t this already well known?

Yes, and no. There is indeed plenty of evidence that relationships are very important for lots of things — but science needs to explore multiple avenues to be fully convinced. This study by Lin et al. for the journal Menopause explored the relationship between social factors in 900 perimenopausal women (the period just before menopause when symptoms start to arise and hormones start to change).

Friends are Good for your Brain

Andy's Quick Hits (32): Your Brain on Loneliness

The Social Brain

And what did they find?

So, there could be an assumption that brain fog associated with perimenopause and menopause is due to fluctuating hormone levels. That would make sense but what they found is that social factors had a significant effect on this.

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Specifically, both feeling lonely, and feeling isolated (which are similar but different), worsened memory and attention tasks. Or alternatively that having healthy social connection boosts brain performance even, or especially, under this period of hormone fluctuation.

This age normally 45–55 is also often associated with multiple life stressors with growing children, work factors, and often with aging parents.

So, make sure you have friendships and social contact at this stage in life!?

Well, make sure you have friendships and social contact at any stage in life!

As you know relationships, or Attachment, is one of the five basic needs in SCOAP. It is a basic need because it is, well, a basic need. It is essential to healthy functioning of human beings. Hence this research doesn’t surprise me but does highlight once again the importance of relationships for human beings at all ages in life.

And a small plug here — you can access a free course on SCOAP here:

SCOAP Essentials — A blueprint for human behaviour and wellbeing

Originally published on my Substack

Reference

Xiaohe Lin, Xiangyu Zhao, Xinyi Liu, et al.
Independent and joint associations of loneliness and social isolation with subjective cognitive decline in perimenopausal women
Menopause 2026;33:000–000
eISSN: 1530–0374
DOI: 10.1097/GME.0000000000002763