The Retirement Wisdom Podcast Why Brains Need Friends – Ben Rein
What if your brain’s health in retirement depended as much on who you see as on what you eat or how you move? Neuroscientist Dr. Ben Rein, author of the new book Why Brains Need Friends: The Neuroscience of Social Connection, joins us to reveal how social connection shapes your brain. He explains why isolation is as toxic as chronic stress, how friendship fuels brain resilience, and why your dog might be one of your best wellness allies. In this e, ye-opening conversation, you’ll learn how staying socially engaged literally protects your brain from decline, the science behind “nature’s medicine” — oxytocin — and practical ways to rewire your social habits for longevity, joy, and emotional well-being. If you’ve ever wondered why friendships matter more than ever in retirement, this episode will change the way you think about your brain — and your calendar.
You’ll learn:
- Why social interaction is a fundamental pillar of brain health, as critical as sleep and nutrition – and what happens when we don’t get enough of it
- The invisible pattern of retirement isolation: how time spent alone steadily increases while connections with coworkers, friends, and family decline simultaneously
- Why text-based communication doesn’t satisfy your brain’s need for connection (and what to do instead to restore the social cues your brain craves)
- The surprising neuroscience behind why dogs are so good for us—and how they activate the same brain reward systems as human connection
- Two scientifically-proven exercises you can start today to train your empathy and strengthen the brain regions associated with compassion and social connection
Ben Rein joins us from Buffalo, New York.
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Bio
Ben Rein, PhD, is an award-winning neuroscientist, chief science officer of the Mind Science Foundation, adjunct lecturer at Stanford University, clinical assistant professor at SUNY Buffalo, and a renowned science educator. Dr. Rein’s research focuses on the neuroscience of social interactions, and outside of the lab he teaches neuroscience to an audience of more than one million social media followers. Dr. Rein and his research have been featured on major media outlets including Entertainment Tonight and Good Morning America, and he has received awards from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; the Society for Neuroscience; and elsewhere.
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For More on Ben Rein
Why Brains Need Friends: The Neuroscience of Social Connection
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Mentioned in this Podcast
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Podcast Conversations You May Like
Our New Social Life – Natalie Kerr & Jaime Kurtz
The Laws of Connection – David Robson
The Self-Healing Mind – Gregory Scott Brown, M.D
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About The Retirement Wisdom Podcast
There are many podcasts on retirement, often hosted by financial advisors with their own financial motives, that cover the money side of the street. This podcast is different. You’ll get smarter about the investment decisions you’ll make about the most important asset you’ll have in retirement: your time.
About Retirement Wisdom
I help people who are retiring, but aren’t quite done yet, discover what’s next and build their custom version of their next life. A meaningful retirement doesn’t just happen by accident.
Schedule a call today to discuss how the Designing Your Life process created by Bill Burnett & Dave Evans can help you make your life in retirement a great one — on your own terms.
About Your Podcast Host
Joe Casey is an executive coach who helps people design their next life after their primary career and create their version of The Multipurpose Retirement.™ He created his own next chapter after a 26-year career at Merrill Lynch, where he was Senior Vice President and Head of HR for Global Markets & Investment Banking.
Joe has earned Master’s degrees from the University of Southern California in Gerontology (at age 60), the University of Pennsylvania, and Middlesex University (UK), a BA in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and his coaching certification from Columbia University.
In addition to his work with clients, Joe hosts The Retirement Wisdom Podcast, ranked in the top 1% globally in popularity by Listen Notes, with over 1.6 million downloads. Business Insider recognized Joe as one of 23 innovative coaches who are making a difference. He’s the author of Win the Retirement Game: How to Outsmart the 9 Forces Trying to Steal Your Joy.
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Wise Quotes
On Why Social Interaction is Essential
“As a social neuroscientist, so I have spent a decade studying the biology of our interactions and not just in my own studies, but in reading a ton of literature, there is so much science out there on this. Basically, interacting is really, I consider it a fundamental pillar of wellbeing. And that goes for throughout the entire lifespan. But I think there are especially sensitive periods where we really need interaction. And that is early life. And that is also late life. In early life, it really shapes the development of our brains. And in late life, it sustains the health of our brains.”
On the Hidden Crisis of Retirement Isolation
“The data show that as we get older, the number of hours we spend alone continues to rise. And similarly, imagine if the amount of fast food you ate went up steadily as you got older, or the amount of hours you slept went down steadily as you got older. We would be pointing at this and saying, oh gosh, this is really not bad. 75 year old people are not sleeping. They are eating fast food. This is super bad for their health, but we are not really looking at the social component of it. And that is why I really point to it and say this is something that actually I think has to be a need-to-have because it is really significant for the brain and body.”
On the Nightmare That Changed His Life
“That was the first time where I realized I am interested in the organ behind the behavior. I mean, what incredible computational power to be able to do that, that same computational power is behind all those behaviors that I am interested in from a psychology viewpoint. I cannot ignore this anymore. I need to change my major. And I did. And what is funny is the reason I shared the story of The Nightmare is because I actually think it reflects my brain playing out an undesirable future where I do not listen to that inner voice. And I end up in a career that controls me and does not let me do what I want. And I feel distorted. My identity is distorted. And I think that was sort of my subconscious trying to tell me, wake up. It is the brain. Study neuroscience.”