[Lifestyle]Want to live a long life? Start prioritising your friends

[Angel of Death]

Your social network may influence your health as much as your exercise routine. David Robson, the author of a new book about our relationships, explores the evidence and reasons for this surprising link.

If you have paid attention to the latest thinking on wellbeing and longevity, you will have noticed increasing focus on the state of our relationships. People with thriving social networks, we are told, tend to be far healthier than those who feel isolated.

Our interactions with others are so strongly linked to our longevity that the World Health Organization has just founded a new Commission on Social Connection, calling it "a global health priority".

You may be a little sceptical about these claims, and the mysterious mechanisms that are supposed to tie our physical wellbeing with the strength of our relationships. But our understanding of the "biopsychosocial" model of health has been growing for decades. While investigating the science for my book The Laws of Connection, I discovered that our friendships can influence everything from our immune system's strength to our chances of dying from heart disease.

The conclusions of this research are clear: if we want to live a long and healthy life, we should start prioritising the people around us.

 

Link: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240722-why-your-friends-make-you-live-longer