Bangalore Literature Fest: Nobel laureate warns against social isolation of the elderly

Bengaluru: Nobel laureate Venki Ramakrishnan delivered a powerful message about ageing and social well-being at the Bangalore Literature Festival (BLF) Saturday, stressing the importance of maintaining social connections and purpose in later life.In a conversation with writer Manu S Pillai on ‘Why we die', Ramakrishnan warned against the dangers of social isolation, particularly for older adults, and urged people to ensure the elderly have a good social network."Social isolation is bad for your health, especially when you are elderly. Shoving old people in retirement homes and having them live isolated lives isn't a good idea. Ensure they have a good social network. Many retirement homes have it. It's best to have generational integration in society. Having a sense of purpose is good for longevity. People can do other things than the job they did when young — volunteer work, etc. There are a number of things we can do to try and stay healthy and make life enjoyable," he said.Ramakrishnan provided insights into the human fascination with longevity, noting that average lifespans have already doubled compared to 150 years ago. He cautioned against an insatiable quest for extending life, pointing out that as lifespans increase, individuals become more susceptible to complex health challenges."...If we live to be 150, people will say why not live for 300 years; this quest is eternal and never satisfied. As we live longer, one will die of other reasons than ageing... Besides, no one has figured out how to stop ageing in the brain; unless you solve that, we continue to live and get neurodegenerative diseases as we continue to live," he said. He drew a historical parallel, referencing Chine's first emperor's obsessive and ultimately fatal pursuit of immortality, suggesting that human preoccupation with extending life is nothing new. He raised thought-provoking questions about societal implications of dramatically extended lifespans, including concerns about generational fairness and prolonged political leadership: "... Imagine Biden vs Trump 20 years from now."Addressing the modern phenomenon of biohacking, Ramakrishnan criticised what he called the ‘worried well' — affluent individuals obsessed with preventing ageing through unproven scientific interventions. "They forget life is about other things — enjoying it, music, friends, and family," he remarked.Pointing out that while there are a lot of efforts to develop therapeutics, he said all the science shows that old advice works. "... Diet, with plenty of fresh fruits, exercise with cardio and weight training can slow down the decline. Exercise has the aspect of regeneration of mitochondria. Sleep — it's not just done by mammals, even unicellular organisms have circadian rhythms," he said, adding that people age faster and are prone to diseases if they don't sleep.
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