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nostalgia improves health and outlook in seniors: 'now i have a goal'

while nostalgia is a past-oriented emotion, it has motivational consequences for healthy behaviours, like the anticipation and joy seniors experience when they visit or talk to loved ones.

by karen hawthorne
published nov 18, 2024
read time 4 minute read
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read time 4 minute read
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“i'm interested in life. my trip to the netherlands brought me back. and my bond with my cousins is stronger than ever," jane somerton, second from left, says of her rekindled relationship with her family in the netherlands. supplied
jane somerton, 86, recently received a box of dutch stroopwafels, the popular caramel-filled waffle cookies that she calls a delicious delicacy from home, courtesy of her cousins in the netherlands. the thunder bay, ontario senior has rekindled her relationship with her cousins and oldest friend lies burgstra in the netherlands after a visit this past spring – something she hadn’t thought possible because of her ill health and limited mobility. jane has non-hodgkin follicular lymphoma, a type of cancer that forms in the lymph system and can slowly spread to the bone marrow or spleen. she’s had two surgeries as a result and now also has edema, painful swelling in her legs and feet that makes it difficult to walk.
“i was not really interested in anything anymore because that’s what illness does. but now i am a going concern,” she laughs, adding that she is doing well and in much better spirits this year. “i’m interested in life. my trip to the netherlands brought me back. and my bond with my cousins is stronger than ever.”
she emigrated from the netherlands to canada as a teenager with her family on an immigrant ship after the second world war. they didn’t speak english, but jane, a conscientious student, taught herself from the schoolbooks for early grades and went on to work in a bank and then became a primary school teacher. when she retired, she worked for a travel company as a tour guide for group trips in canada and south of the border.

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she visited her family in 2015 and didn’t expect to return, but the tradition continues: when jane goes home to the netherlands, all the family comes together for a big reunion. the trip was made possible by the chartwell foundation, a charity that grants the wishes of canadian seniors, 65 and older, to help them feel connected and engaged. jane had submitted her wish to travel home and was thrilled to have it granted.
the chartwell program is based on research about healthy aging and how seniors who are connected and socially active live happier and healthier lives. part of that science is the power of nostalgia, an emotion that can help people “gauge and clarify the personal significance of their past, and then use it to step confidently into a distant and often murky tomorrow. relying on a meaningful past, nostalgia can offer guidance toward valuable experiences in times ahead,” psychology researchers say in a 2023 review of nostalgia studies published in current opinions in psychology. while nostalgia is a past-oriented emotion, it has motivational consequences for healthy behaviours, like the anticipation and joy seniors experience when they visit or talk to loved ones.
“the nostalgia trigger is re-experiencing, and that’s what connects so beautifully to the chartwell foundation and wish granting,” says sharon ranalli, vice president of marketing and communications at chartwell retirement residences. fulfilling seniors’ dreams directly supports nostalgia. most of the seniors’ wishes are about re-experiencing something they have done in their lives or being with people who help them revisit those experiences that make up our most cherished memories. “photos, conversations and the act of doing,” are well-documented to improve health as we age, she says of the research. “people need to feel involved and be purpose-driven no matter what age they are.”
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the tradition continues: when jane goes home to the netherlands, all the family comes together for a big reunion.
the tradition continues: when jane goes home to the netherlands, all the family comes together for a big reunion. supplied
even the sentimentality of looking through photos of your younger self or special events can inspire a brighter outlook. and good mental health has been proven as essential to overall health and quality of life, as outlined by the national institute on aging.
as people age, changes like hearing and vision loss, memory loss, disability, trouble getting around, and the loss of family and friends makes it challenging to maintain social connections. older adults are more likely to be socially isolated or to feel lonely. studies show that these put older adults at higher risk for heart disease, depression and cognitive decline. a 2021 study in the international journal of geriatric psychiatry, for example, looked at the health of 11,000 adults over age 70 and found that loneliness was associated with a greater risk of heart disease.
another study in the annals of behavioral medicine revealed that socially isolated older adults have more chronic lung conditions and depressive symptoms compared to older adults with social support.
as experts point out, social isolation and loneliness are different: loneliness is the distressing feeling of being alone or separated, while social isolation is the lack of social contacts and having few people to interact with regularly.
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jane, surrounded by friends at her retirement residence and enjoying the rekindled connection to her family in the netherlands, is experiencing the benefits, including the recent delivery of yummy dutch waffle cookies.
“i have energy, i have initiative, and now i have a goal,” says jane. “i want to stay as happy as i am right now and maybe make a lot of other people as happy, too.”
karen hawthorne
karen hawthorne

karen hawthorne worked for six years as a digital editor for the national post, contributing articles on health, business, culture and travel for affiliated newspapers across canada. she now writes from her home office in toronto and takes breaks to bounce with her son on the backyard trampoline and walk bingo, her bull terrier.

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