Switching it up: Activity diversity and cognitive functioning in later life.

Brown, Colette; Jeon, Sangha; Ng, Yee To; Lee, Soomi; Fingerman, Karen L.; Charles, Susan T.

doi:10.1037/pag0000770

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Activity diversity denotes the variety of activity types that people engage in during a particular time frame. It has been shown that activity diversity is associated with higher cognitive functioning ( Brown et al, 2023 ), more agreeable personality states ( Lindner et al, 2023 ), and lower likelihood to develop frailty ( Takahashi et al, 2023 ) and depression ( Lee, Yu, et al, 2018 ).…”

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Activity Diversity and Well-Being in Daily Life: Evidence for Heterogeneity Between Older Adults

Luo,

Moulder,

Breitfelder

et al. 2024

The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences

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Objectives Although higher activity diversity is associated with higher well-being at the between-person level, it is unknown whether a day with higher activity diversity is related to higher well-being within persons. Within 24 hours per day, there is a limited number of activities on which individuals could spend their time and energy. Personal resources could influence the expenditure of energy and thus the experience with daily activities. This study examined daily associations between activity diversity and well-being and whether age and self-related health moderated the associations. Method For seven times per day over two weeks, 129 retired older adults (Mage = 73.9 years, SDage = 5.6) reported their present activity engagement and positive and negative affect. Daily activity diversity was operationalized as the number of different activity types reported per day. Daily positive and negative affect were assessed as the average of a range of high- and low-arousal affective states. Self-rated health was assessed with an item from the 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey at baseline. Results Multilevel models showed that daily activity diversity was unrelated, on average, to daily positive or negative affect, at the between- and within-person levels. Daily activity diversity was associated with lower daily positive affect in participants with lower self-rated health, but the Johnson-Neyman regions of significance was outside of the range of observed data. Discussion Divergent patterns were observed in the within-person associations between activity diversity and well-being across participants. Results are discussed in the contexts of time use and well-being in older age.

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confidence: 99%

Activity Diversity and Well-Being in Daily Life: Evidence for Heterogeneity Between Older Adults

Luo,

Moulder,

Breitfelder

et al. 2024

The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences

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Online Social Activities and Cognitive Functioning Two Years Later Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults: Prospective Cohort Study (Preprint)

Jeon,

Charles

2024

Preprint

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BACKGROUND A number of studies document the benefits of face-to-face social interactions for cognitive functioning among middle-aged and older adults. Social activities in virtual worlds may confer similar if not enhanced cognitive benefits as face-to-face social activities, given that virtual interactions require the additional cognitive tasks of learning and navigating communicative tools and technology platforms. Yet, few studies have examined whether social interactions in online settings may have synergistic effects on cognitive functioning beyond those of face-to-face interactions. OBJECTIVE This study examined whether online social activity participation is associated with concurrent and later cognitive functioning, after adjusting for face-to-face social activity participation and sociodemographic covariates. METHODS For cross-sectional analyses, we included 4,997 adults aged 50 and older who completed questions about social activity participation and cognitive tasks in 2020 of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), when information about online activity was first assessed. The longitudinal analyses included the 2,844 participants who also completed the 2022 follow-up cognitive assessments. RESULTS Regression analyses revealed that those with higher levels of online social activity participation had higher levels of concurrent cognitive functioning than those with low levels of online social activity participation, after adjusting for demographic, health-related factors and face-to-face social activity participation (p < .001). More online social activity participation also predicted better cognitive functioning two years later, even when adjusting for cognitive functioning at baseline and other covariates (p < .001). CONCLUSIONS Findings suggest that greater engagement in online social activities is associated with high levels of current level and change in cognitive functioning across middle-aged and older adulthood.

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Neurosustainability

Khalil

2024

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

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While the human brain has evolved extraordinary abilities to dominate nature, modern living has paradoxically trapped it in a contemporary “cage” that stifles neuroplasticity. Within this modern environment lurk unseen natural laws with power to sustain the human brain’s adaptive capacities - if consciously orchestrated into the environments we design. For too long our contemporary environments have imposed an unyielding static state, while still neglecting the brain’s constant adaptive nature as it evolves to dominate the natural world with increasing sophistication. The theory introduced in this article aims to go back in nature without having to go back in time, introducing and expounding Neurosustainability as a novel paradigm seeing beyond the contemporary confines to architect environments and brains in parallel. Its integrated neuro-evidenced framework proposes four enrichment scopes—spatial, natural, aesthetic, and social—each holding multifaceted attributes promising to sustain regions like the hippocampus, cortex and amygdala. Neurosustainability aims to liberate the quintessential essence of nature to sustain and enhance neuroplastic processes through a cycle that begins with design and extends through epigenetic changes. This paradigm shift aims to foster cognitive health and wellness by addressing issues like stress, depression, anxiety and cognitive decline common in the contemporary era thereby offering a path toward a more neurosustainable era aiming to nurture the evolution of the human brain now and beyond.

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Switching it up: Activity diversity and cognitive functioning in later life.

Cited by 3 publications

References 59 publications

Activity Diversity and Well-Being in Daily Life: Evidence for Heterogeneity Between Older Adults

Activity Diversity and Well-Being in Daily Life: Evidence for Heterogeneity Between Older Adults

Online Social Activities and Cognitive Functioning Two Years Later Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults: Prospective Cohort Study (Preprint)

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