Keep talking

Having company is of primary importance for the elderly, Dr Sofoclis Loizides said.

“It is number one. It is very important to have company, someone, anyone, to talk to,” he stressed.

Loizides said day care centres and clubs were extremely beneficial as they ensured the elderly socialised.

“They can communicate. If they are totally alone they become depressed and then also when they don’t use their brain the onset of dementia is quicker. It’s like the brain goes to sleep,” he said.

Having someone to talk to “ keeps the brain going”, he said.

“When someone is totally alone and has no communication with anyone it is very difficult,” he said.

The onset of psychological problems brought on by severe loneliness also set off a chain reaction of other ailments which led to a poor quality of life and a shorter lifespan, he said.

“When people are depressed it affects their physical health and they don’t eat quite so well and so on,” he said.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.