Health
Always running late? The real cost to your relationships may surprise you
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Chronic lateness is known to be a common annoyance, often leading to strain within relationships, experts have confirmed.
And for some people who struggle to be on time, the reasons may go far beyond poor planning.
Psychotherapist and author Jonathan Alpert told Fox News Digital that chronic lateness often stems from a combination of psychological patterns and neurobiological factors that people may not realize are influencing them.
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“For some people, it’s personality-driven. They’re distractible, optimistic about how long things take, or simply not tuned into the impact on others,” the New York-based expert said.
For others, the issue stems from neurobiological differences that affect how the brain manages time.
Chronic lateness may not stem from poor planning, but from psychological and neurobiological factors. (iStock)
That can make it harder to estimate how long tasks take or to transition from one activity to the next, leading to chronic lateness, according to Alpert.
Impact on relationships
In addition to disrupting schedules, chronic lateness may also strain relationships and create tension.
“Lateness erodes trust. Over time, it sends the message that someone else’s time is less important, even if that’s not the intent,” Alpert noted.
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Lateness can also become an issue in the workplace, where repeated delays can undermine teamwork and harm a person’s reputation.
These patterns are common among people with ADHD, who often experience what is known as “time blindness,” making it difficult to recognize how quickly minutes pass or how long tasks truly take.
“Adding 10 to 15 minutes of buffer between activities reduces the frantic rushing that leads to chronic lateness.”
ADHD is strongly associated with executive-function difficulties, which are the skills needed to stay organized, plan ahead and focus on essential details, according to the Attention Deficit Disorder Association.
When these abilities are weaker, it becomes more challenging to gauge time, follow a schedule and meet deadlines, which can impact personal and professional relationships, experts agree.
Frequent tardiness in a work setting can throw off group efforts and leave others with a negative impression of the employee. (iStock)
Underlying patterns
Anxiety, avoidance and perfectionism are patterns that Alpert most often sees in people who tend to run late, he noted.
“Many chronically late individuals don’t intend to be disrespectful. They’re overwhelmed, anxious or trying to squeeze too much into too little time,” he said.
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These emotional patterns often show up in different ways. For some, anxiety can make it difficult to begin even simple tasks, pushing everything behind schedule before the day has even started, according to Alpert.
For others, the struggle happens in the in-between moments. Shifting from one activity to another can feel surprisingly uncomfortable, so they linger longer than intended and lose time without noticing.
Anxiety is a major factor behind why some people have trouble being on time, according to experts. (iStock)
Others may get caught up in the details, as perfectionism keeps them adjusting or “fixing one more thing” as the minutes slip away, Alpert said.
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Another major factor, the expert shared, is that many people simply misjudge how long tasks take. Their internal sense of time is often inaccurate, which leads them to assume they can fit far more into a day than is realistically possible.
‘Time audit’
Alpert often recommends that his clients perform a simple “time audit,” where they track how long they think a routine task will take and then time it in real life. This can help them rebuild a more accurate internal clock, he said.
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“Adding 10 to 15 minutes of buffer between activities reduces the frantic rushing that leads to chronic lateness,” he said.
Many people with ADHD have a difficult time recognizing how quickly minutes pass or how long tasks truly take. (iStock)
Despite the challenges lateness can create, Alpert said people don’t have to be stuck with these habits forever. With the right support and consistent strategies, meaningful change is possible.
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“Strong routines, alarms, checklists and accurate time estimates compensate for traits that don’t naturally disappear,” he added.
People who find that lateness is affecting their everyday life and relationships may benefit from discussing their concerns with a healthcare provider or mental health professional.
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The key to feeling better in a fast, overstimulated world might be surprisingly simple: Live a little more like your grandparents.
A growing social media trend, dubbed “nonnamaxxing,” draws inspiration from the slower, more intentional rhythms associated with an Italian grandmother.
The lifestyle is often linked to activities like preparing home-cooked meals, spending time outdoors and making meaningful connections.
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“Nonnamaxxing is a 2026 trend that embraces the slower, more intentional lifestyle of an Italian grandmother (a Nonna). Think cooking from scratch, long family meals, daily walks, gardening and less screen time,” Erin Palinski-Wade, a New Jersey-based registered dietitian, told Fox News Digital.
Nonnamaxxing, derived from the name for an Italian grandmother, is a trend that incorporates lifestyle habits hundreds of years in the making. (iStock)
Stepping away from screens and toward real-world interaction can have measurable benefits, according to California-based psychotherapist Laurie Singer.
“We know that interacting with others in person, rather than spending time on screens, significantly improves mental health,” she told Fox News Digital, adding that social media often fuels comparison and lowers self-esteem.
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Living more like previous generations isn’t purely driven by nostalgia. Cooking meals from scratch, for example, has been linked to better nutrition and more mindful eating patterns.
Adopting traditional mealtime habits can improve diet quality and support both physical and mental health, especially when meals are shared regularly with others, Palinski-Wade noted.
One longevity expert stresses that staying healthy isn’t just about food — it’s also about joy and community. (iStock)
There’s also a psychological benefit to slowing down and focusing on one task at a time. Anxiety often stems from unfinished or avoided tasks, Singer noted, and engaging in hands-on activities can counteract that.
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“Nonnamaxxing encourages us to be present around a task, like gardening, baking or knitting, or just taking a mindful walk, that delivers something ‘real,’” she said.
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Palinski-Wade cautions against turning the trend into another source of pressure, noting that a traditional “nonna” lifestyle often assumes a different pace of life.
The key, she said, is adapting the mindset, not replicating it perfectly.
Nonnamaxxing, derived from the name for an Italian grandmother, is a trend that incorporates lifestyle habits hundreds of years in the making. (iStock)
The goal is to reintroduce small, intentional moments that make you feel better.
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That might mean prioritizing a few shared meals each week, taking a walk without your phone or setting aside time for a simple hobby, the expert recommended.
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Singer added, “Having a positive place to escape to, through whatever activities speak to us and make us happy, isn’t generational – it’s human.”
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Feeling lonely may take a toll on older adults’ memory — but it may not speed up cognitive decline, according to a new study.
Researchers from Colombia, Spain and Sweden analyzed data from more than 10,000 adults ages 65 to 94 across 12 European countries and found those who reported higher levels of loneliness did worse on memory tests at the start of the study, according to research published this month in the journal Aging & Mental Health.
Over a seven-year period, however, memory decline occurred at a similar rate regardless of how lonely participants felt.
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“The finding that loneliness significantly impacted memory, but not the speed of decline in memory over time was a surprising outcome,” lead author Dr. Luis Carlos Venegas-Sanabria of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences at the Universidad del Rosario said in a statement.
Loneliness may be linked to memory performance in older adults, a new study suggests. (iStock)
“It suggests that loneliness may play a more prominent role in the initial state of memory than in its progressive decline,” Venegas-Sanabria said, adding that the findings highlight the importance of addressing loneliness as a factor in cognitive performance.
The findings add to debate about whether loneliness contributes to dementia risk. While loneliness and social isolation are often considered risk factors for cognitive decline, research results have been mixed.
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The study looked at data from the long-running Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), which tracked 10,217 older adults between 2012 and 2019. Participants were asked to recall words immediately and after a delay to measure memory performance.
Social isolation and loneliness could play a surprising role in cognitive health among seniors. (iStock)
Loneliness was assessed using three questions about how often participants felt isolated, left out or lacking companionship.
About 8% of participants reported high levels of loneliness at the outset. That group tended to be older, more likely to be female and more likely to have conditions such as depression.
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Researchers found that those with higher loneliness had lower scores on both immediate and delayed memory tests at baseline. Still, all groups — regardless of loneliness level — experienced similar declines in memory over time.
The results suggest loneliness may not directly accelerate the progression of memory loss, though it remains linked to poorer cognitive performance overall.
Researchers look at a brain scan at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)
Experts warn, however, that the findings should not be interpreted to mean loneliness is harmless.
“The finding that lonely older adults start with worse memory but don’t decline faster is actually the most interesting part of the paper, and I think it’s easy to misread,” said Jordan Weiss, Ph.D., a scientific advisor and aging expert at Assisted Living Magazine and a professor at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
“It likely means loneliness does its damage earlier in life, well before people show up in a study like this at 65-plus,” Weiss told Fox News Digital.
By older age, long-term social patterns may already be established, making it harder to detect when the effects of loneliness first took hold, an aging expert says. (iStock)
He suggested that by older age, long-term social patterns may already be established, making it harder to detect when the effects of loneliness first took hold.
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“By the time you’re measuring someone in their late 60s, decades of social connection patterns are already baked in,” he said.
Weiss, who was not involved in the research, added that loneliness may coincide with other health conditions, and noted that participants who felt more isolated also had higher rates of depression, high-blood pressure and diabetes. The link, he said, may reflect a cluster of health risks rather than a direct cause.
“While they can go hand-in-hand, it’s not clear that loneliness contributes to dementia,” a psychotherapist says. (iStock)
Amy Morin, a Florida-based psychotherapist and author, said the findings reflect a broader pattern in research on loneliness and brain health, and that the relationship may be more complex than it appears.
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“The evidence shows there’s a link between loneliness and cognitive decline but there’s no direct evidence of a cause and effect relationship,” she said. “So while they can go hand-in-hand, it’s not clear that loneliness contributes to dementia.”
Morin added that loneliness, which can fluctuate, may not be the root of the problem, but rather a symptom of other underlying mental or physical health issues.
Researchers suggested screening for loneliness be incorporated into routine cognitive assessments as one way to support healthy aging. (iStock)
She said staying socially and mentally engaged is crucial for overall brain health.
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“It’s important to be proactive about social activities,” Morin said. “Joining a book club, having coffee with a friend, or attending faith-based services can be a powerful way to maintain connections in older age.”
The researchers also suggested screening for loneliness be incorporated into routine cognitive assessments as one way to support healthy aging.
Fox News Digital reached out to the researchers for comment.
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