1. [Connection] Who would notice within three days if you stopped leaving the house, and who would you notice? What does that map of noticing say about your circle?
Behind it: A meta-analysis of 148 studies found stronger social relationships associated with substantially higher odds of survival. (PLoS Medicine (Holt-Lunstad J, Smith TB, Layton JB), 2010)
2. [Connection] The longest-running happiness study concluded that good relationships, more than wealth or fame, keep people healthier and happier. Which relationship of yours deserves an hour this week?
Behind it: The Harvard Study of Adult Development has followed lives since 1938; its directors name relationship quality as the strongest predictor of healthy aging. (Harvard Medical School, 2023)
3. [Connection] Loneliness is now treated as a public health issue, not a personal failing. What would a lonely neighbour need from this circle, and how would they find it?
Behind it: The WHO Commission on Social Connection frames isolation and loneliness as a global health priority with mortality-level stakes. (World Health Organization, 2025)
4. [Habits] Research found new habits took anywhere from 18 to 254 days to feel automatic. Which habit did you personally underestimate, and what finally made it stick?
Behind it: Lally and colleagues measured a median of 66 days to automaticity, with a very wide individual range. (European Journal of Social Psychology (Lally P et al.), 2010)
5. [Habits] A habit kept with company survives bad weeks better than a habit kept alone. What is the smallest shared routine this circle could actually sustain for a year?
Behind it: Reviews of behaviour change consistently point to social support as a lever for maintaining physical activity. (World Health Organization, 2024)
6. [Habits] If your future self at eighty could send back one sentence about your current evenings, what would it say?
Behind it: Sleep consensus guidance ties regular seven-plus-hour nights to better long-term health; evenings decide nights. (American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society, 2015)
7. [Purpose] A meta-analysis links a sense of purpose with lower mortality. Purpose sounds grand; name one ordinary thing that reliably gets you out of bed.
Behind it: Cohen and colleagues pooled prospective studies: higher purpose in life associated with lower all-cause mortality and cardiovascular events. (Psychosomatic Medicine (Cohen R, Bavishi C, Rozanski A), 2016)
8. [Purpose] Retirement removes structure faster than it removes energy. What structure would you rebuild first: a schedule, a role, or a room full of people?
Behind it: Purpose and engagement research suggests roles and routines carry wellbeing in later life more than leisure alone. (Psychosomatic Medicine (Cohen R, Bavishi C, Rozanski A), 2016)
9. [Body] The WHO asks for strength work twice a week, yet almost nobody counts it the way they count steps. What did your grandparents do daily that counted as strength work without a gym?
Behind it: WHO physical activity guidance includes muscle-strengthening on two or more days a week for adults. (World Health Organization, 2024)
10. [Body] Muscle in later life is independence: carrying shopping, rising from a chair, catching a stumble. Which everyday movement do you want to still own at ninety?
Behind it: WHO guidance links regular activity including strength work with maintained function and independence in older adults. (World Health Organization, 2024)
11. [Body] Nearly half of dementia risk is attributed to factors that can in principle be modified. Which of the listed factors surprised you most, and what would acting on it look like this month?
Behind it: The 2024 Lancet standing Commission attributes around 45 percent of dementia risk to 14 modifiable factors, from hearing loss to social isolation. (The Lancet, 2024)
12. [Connection] Intergenerational time benefits both directions: the older mind stays engaged, the younger one gains ballast. Where could this circle borrow some eight-year-olds or eighty-year-olds?
Behind it: The Lancet Commission highlights social engagement across the life course among protective factors for cognitive health. (The Lancet, 2024)
13. [Habits] We keep the standards we announce. If this circle published three house rules for healthy weeks, what would they be, and which would you break first?
Behind it: Habit research finds implementation intentions, stated plans tied to context, improve follow-through. (European Journal of Social Psychology (Lally P et al.), 2010)
14. [Body] A 400 g target of fruit and vegetables sounds clinical until it becomes a market basket. What does 400 g actually look like on a Mauritian table?
Behind it: WHO healthy diet guidance sets at least 400 g of fruit and vegetables a day as a reference point. (World Health Organization, 2020)
15. [Purpose] What is one thing you learned this year that you have already passed on to someone else? Teaching might be the most social form of learning.
Behind it: Cognitive engagement and social contact both appear in the Lancet Commission list of protective factors. (The Lancet, 2024)
16. [Connection] Circles fail quietly: the meeting that slips, the message that goes unanswered. What early warning sign should this circle agree to act on?
Behind it: Social connection research treats maintenance, not formation, as the hard part of relationships in mid and later life. (World Health Organization, 2025)
