I like to think we have lots to thank our friends for, from stepping in when we don’t have a pet sitter, to being there when the going gets tough, to listening to every detail.
Research reveals that these reliable companions do more than just have our backs: They can make us healthier.
A study found that young adults that had large circles of friends, were able to tolerate physical pain better, because they had higher levels of endorphins, the body’s feel-good chemicals.
Friends bring benefits later in life too. A 2011 study by Rush University Medical Center, in Chicago, concluded that the rate of cognitive decline was reduced by about 70 percent in socially active elderly adults, compared with those who socialized less often.
For older adults, supportive friendships have been found to be a stronger predictor of health and happiness than relationships with family members and spouses. We tend to spend leisure time with friends, while more obligatory relationships can often lead to mixed emotions and even stress.
In fact, going at it alone is now being seen as a real and quantifiable threat. Here’s the shocking part for me — experts say that the lack of social connections carries the same risk for premature mortality as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, and exceeds the risk associated with obesity and physical inactivity.
It’s actually straightforward science. We are social animals. When we are around others that we trust, we feel safer. By contrast, feeling isolated puts us on high alert, which can interfere with sleep, raise our blood pressure and levels of the stress hormone cortisol, even rev up inflammation.
Time with friends provides a unique kind of emotional support. Unlike family or coworkers, friends choose to be in our lives. When they show up for us, it is incredibly validating. It helps us feel appreciated for who we are.
The sad consequence? A 2018 Cigna survey states that nearly half of Americans suffer from feelings of loneliness.
What is most important is how you feel about the relationship: Are you supported? Will they pick up the phone in the middle of the night? Those are the ones worth investing in. And those investments should be safeguarded.
I say we need to take these relationships just as seriously as we do diet and exercise. In other words, make like a middle schooler, and put your peeps first.
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