I’m sure we’ve all heard of retail therapy - where we go on a shopping spree to lose the blues. But can bingo be really good for your health and well-being? Well a study published this year appears to think so!

The study followed research by Chicago's Rush University Medical Centre.  It found in a survey of almost 1,000 adults how much help subjects needed looking after themselves as they entered their 80s. It found that the most sociable were less likely to need assistance getting dressed or going upstairs or a variety of daily functions. Bingo was one of the most beneficial activities as it involves being with other people as well as keeping alert monitoring numbers being called out to see if they had a line or a house and had won a prize.

n a nutshell the study found that "Higher levels of social activity are associated with a decreased risk of becoming disabled. Social activity has long been recognized as an essential component of healthy aging, but now we have strong evidence that it is also related to better every day functioning and less disability in old age.”

For many elderly people, being able to take care of these tasks can mean the difference between looking after themselves or needing daily attention or living in an old people's home. The researchers believe social activity is related to how the brain controls the rest of the body, including muscles and other physical functions. They all combine to 'maintain functional independence' said the study.

Now folks, they are not claiming that Bingo cures all ills, but didn’t we just know that our favourite game can make you not only happier, but improve your prospects in old age. And that’s without a mega win followed by a world cruise!  And even a modest win, I imagine, would also boost up the cheer factor. So next time you’re in a chat room, it may be OK to ask someone their age and it they too are experience more independence through our wonderful game! I also wonder whether if you’ve played Bingo since you were very young, like me, it will lengthen your happy life. I personally hope so!

Good luck to you, be you Octogenarian (in your 80’s) or not!