Our research saw that healthcare treats disease, not wellbeing, and that model is breaking down. People are living longer but with more disability and less quality of life, a gap our research calls the Wellbeing Gap, the space between someone's actual health and what's possible with real community engagement. The evidence points to one overlooked driver: social connection. Care has historically been delivered to people rather than activated within them. This work explores social activation, using the trust people place in relationships and community, rather than expert instruction alone, to help individuals take ownership of their health. Loneliness may be the clearest lever for genuinely sustainable healthcare.
These peer-reviewed papers present the development of the Systematic Wellness Intervention Pathway, a decision-support framework built from a review of the healthy ageing literature and validated by a Delphi survey of 75 global experts across geriatrics, psychology, nutrition and public health. It maps evidence-based interventions across these five domains: physical fitness, mood, cognition, sleep and diet, giving people and providers a structured way to match real activities to individual needs, rather than relying on guesswork or generic advice. The clearest finding didn't sit in any single category; social connection emerged as a driver of outcomes across nearly every domain the experts examined.
These papers build out the autism and ADHD pathways within our Systematic Wellness Intervention Pathway. The first sets out eight established autism programmes in full detail: what each involves, who delivers it, and what the evidence actually shows. The second maps non-drug ADHD interventions across eight domains, from parent training and classroom strategies through to sleep, diet and physical activity. Across both, the clearest pattern isn't a specific technique, it's who delivers it. Almost every programme with meaningful long-term results depends on the people already around the child rather than a specialist working in isolation: parents coached to carry the intervention into daily life, teachers adapting the classroom, families reshaping routines and environments. The evidence is strongest in behavioural parent training and structured classroom support, starting early and staying consistent.
How much time do you want together - and how much do you like doing your own thing?
A lively kitchen or a quiet evening? Company first thing or coffee after ten? It’s not about being an introvert or extrovert. It’s about understanding each other’s rhythms.
Everyone has a different idea of what makes a home feel comfortable. From tidiness to shared spaces, the little things matter.
Early bird or night owl? Dinner together or eat when you fancy? Planned weeks or spontaneous ones? We look at how everyday routines fit together.
People disagree differently too. Understanding how people talk things through can prevent small irritations becoming big ones.
Guests, pets, food, drinking, smoking and what you’re happy to share. Some things are preferences. Others are dealbreakers. It’s much better to know before you move in.
All residents don't need to be the same for a shared living community to succeed. In fact, research of cohousing developments has found that too much homogeneity of residents is considered to be a downside (Arbell, 2022; Jensen et al., 2022; Tummers, 2015). Shared living is successful not when everyone shares the same routines, hobbies, or even all the same values, but when residents are committed to building relationships and being part of a community. Research on social cohesion, or the “glue” of what keeps a community together, finds that conscientiousness and openness are among the most important traits for members of a community to have, where other constructs such as extraversion (how long your social battery lasts) are less important (Larsen et al., 2018). In other words, residents do not need to agree on everything provided they remain open to new experiences, working together, and acting in the best interests of their community.
Shared living may be needed now more than ever. Loneliness is at a national high, with approximately 1 in 5 adults reporting that they feel lonely some or all of the time (Office for National Statistics, 2026). Loneliness has a cost, both to health and social care systems and to individuals. It is estimated that loneliness costs the UK anywhere from £6000 to £10,000 per person, per year, depending on the degree of loneliness (Peytrignet et al., 2020). For individuals, loneliness has been repeatedly associated with a higher chance of having a health condition (Yu et al., 2023) and faster physiological ageing (Fancourt et al., 2026). This includes chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, for which poor social connectedness exceeds risks such as hypertension and obesity (Holt-Lunstad & Smith, 2016). Mental health is also a key concern. Despite an increase in overall care provision, the number of disability-adjusted life-years (subtracting years “lost” to illness) lost due to mental health concerns is rapidly increasing, with lack of social connection and sense of belonging being key culprits (Watts et al., 2026).
Shared living can have a positive impact on one’s social connections and reduce isolation. A systematic review of 77 cohousing projects across Europe and North America found that cohousing improves many aspects of health and wellbeing, including increased social support, reduced loneliness, and higher levels of social interaction (Carrere et al., 2020). In another study of over 300 residents in cohousing developments in Sweden, findings showed that those participating in shared living were significantly less lonely than the EU average, and 70% agreed that people in their living community played an important role in their social life (Conscious Coliving, 2025). Shared living can suit individuals at all stages of life, but young adults and over-55s may be the best positioned to benefit. Young adults and adults aged 25 to 34 are the loneliest age groups according to national statistics (UK Government, 2025). Shared living may support adults in their 20s and early 30s to meaningfully engage in a community while still being able to live in areas with more economic and employment opportunities (Judge, 2019). For older adults, shared living can provide access to safe and suitable housing while preserving one’s independence and control. Shared living can also lengthen disability-free years, slow age-related decline, and result in decreased reliance on social care services (Warner et al., 2024).
Apart from social connectedness, shared living can fulfil a host of other motivations for residents. For example, residents can benefit from simply knowing their neighbours and knowing that other people are around if needed (Reyes et al., 2022). Therefore, shared living can foster a sense of safety and security. Other practical benefits, such as sharing of tasks and resources, have been noted by those interested in shared living (Kvietkute & Hauge, 2022). Shared living developments may also be more environmentally sustainable, with some being shown to emit significantly lower levels of greenhouse gas than the average UK household (Clark, 2021).
Longevity Living is now bringing together its first households across south London.
Join early and you’ll have the opportunity to help shape the kind of home and community you want to be part of, with priority as we match people and bring households together.
Find your people. Shape your community. Be there from day one.