CogBlog – A Cognitive Psychology Blog

The COVID-19 pandemic was a very strange and disruptive time for people all over the world. During the pandemic, we were asked to stay home in order to prevent the spread of the virus. This social-distancing aspect of the pandemic was especially hard to get used to. For some people, social-distancing at home was a nice break from school and work, and maybe (if you’re like me) it was a time spent binging TV shows and movies on Netflix. For many others, however, it was a very isolating and worrisome time. Adults over the age of 60 are at an increased risk for COVID-19 infection, so they were likely to have more strict isolation measures and continued social distancing for a longer period of time than younger adults and children. Many older adults live in long term care facilities and you may think they would still be surrounded by a community of peers and health-care workers during the pandemic, but they were also placed under strict physical distancing measures. The CDC recommended limiting nonessential visitors to these facilities, including family, volunteers, and nonessential health care workers. This means that older adults were more likely to experience feelings of social isolation and loneliness, which has been shown to have a negative impact on cognitive function.