Longevity and Loneliness

Building healthy behavior for the baby boomer generation

Focus Area

• Single, divorced, or widowed [baby boomers] between ages 55 to 70 who are fighting loneliness and care about longevity doing 20 minutes of walking together, grouped by neighborhood.

Walk to your neighborhood park Saturday morning

Go for a walk without music or

headphones plugged in

Walk your dog on Saturday morning

Spend an hour outside of the

house every day

Meet someone new in your

neighborhood every month

Plan a hiking trip for your workplace,

church, or some community you are

a part of

Start a walking club for your

neighborhood

Sign up for a charity walk

Organize a neighborhood

team for a charity walk

Go to your local gym and ask about programs for the 55+ age group

If appropriate, send a company-wide email asking if people want to walk after work

Go door-to-door asking if people

would like to form a walking group until you get 3

people

Say “I am lonely and I want to

change that” aloudKnock on the door of someone in your neighborhood and introduce yourself

Build up a list of people you know who you would

enjoy walking with

Recognize loneliness

Have a 5minute conversation with a neighbor at least

once a weekAsk a friend if they have any friends

who walk regularly and request an

invitationPost a notice on

community bulletin soliciting interest

for walking buddies

Ask a neighbor what they do to get

exercise

Research walking trails around the

area and try a new one every two

weeksWalk to the

grocery store instead of driving

Schedule an evening walk with

a nearby friend Sunday evening

Invite a friend to go to the farmer’s

market with you Sunday morning

Buy walking shoes and a pair of

exercise shorts

Smile at a neighbor once a

day

Very effective

Not effective

No

way

Yes! T

his is p

ossib

le

Tell a neighbor about your walking goals/aspirations

Go to local gym and participate in a 30-minute cardio-

based class

Invite your son/daughter for a walk

after dinner on a week day

Invite romantic interest for a

weekend hike

Insights

• Walking genre factors: with others, productive, enjoyment.

• Solving two needs:• Fighting loneliness

• Improving longevity

• Assumes a solution that couples social + physical activity to solve both needs at once. Brainstorming crispy behaviors is difficult because coupling them seems to require structure.

• Leads to complex motivation where people have different primary motivations• Health first, social aspect is a nice plus

• Meet people first, health benefit is a nice plus

• Care about both equally

• Do you design for all three categories?

Resources to explore

• 2012 Aging in America Conference [http://www.asaging.org/aia12]

• Sixth Annual International Conference on Positive Aging [http://www.positiveaging.fielding.edu/4th-annual-international-conference-on-positive-aging]

• Singles Over 50 Meetup Groups [http://singles-over-50.meetup.com/]

• Senior & Baby Boomer Health & Fitness Conference (by Omaha Wellbound Fitness for Boomers & Seniors) [https://www.facebook.com/events/416458968403802/]

• Reinventing Aging: Baby Boomers and Civic Engagement [http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/chc/reinventingaging/Report.pdf]