Is having no friends just as dangerous as being a lifelong smoker?
According a recent health article on TIME, the mortality difference between smokers and non-smokers is just as large as the mortality difference between people with strong social connections and people with poor social connections. Says the article: 
Researchers at Brigham Young University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill pooled data from 148 studies on health outcomes and social relationships — every research paper on the topic they could find, involving more than 300,000 men and women across the developed world — and found that those with poor social connections had on average 50% higher odds of death in the study’s follow-up period (an average of 7.5 years) than people with more robust social ties.
That boost in longevity is about as large as the mortality difference observed between smokers and non-smokers, the study authors say. And it’s larger than the risk of death associated with many other well-known lifestyle factors, including lack of exercise and obesity. "This is not just a few studies here and there," says Julianne Holt-Lunstad, lead author on the review and an associate professor of psychology at Brigham Young. "I’m hoping there will be recognition from the medical community, the public health community and even the general public about the importance of this."
The take-away is this: strong friendships make for a better life–in mind, body and spirit. When we consider the research back in 2008 which discovered that
happiness is extremely contagious up to three degrees of separation in social networks, this discovery is not altogether surprising.
But how mind-blowing to know that poor social connections can have a very tangible detrimental effect to your long-term health, as much as smoking, not exercising and obesity. Your friendships literally are your lifelines.
Many of us already know this on an intuitive level. During difficult times, it is our relationships that help us heal on a mental and physical level–whether it is venting about a nightmare boss to your best friend or crying about the loss of a pet to your loved one. Close friendships give us to space to let go of negative emotions and stressful experiences that may otherwise fester inside ourselves and manifest themselves outwardly in weaker immune systems, higher blood pressure, decreased energy and more.
On the flip side of the coin, close friendships magnify our most positive experiences and emotions–like sharing good news with a friend, experiencing a happy moment with a loved one, or simply enjoying a new restaurant with your gal pals. And as research has showed again and again, increased happiness leads to better health and longevity.
How can we use this new knowledge to improve our own health? For starters, we can start feeling less guilty when we take the time away from work and personal projects to kick it with friends. And we should all make a renewed commitment to keep in touch with old friends and meet new people instead of waiting for those things to happen by themselves
After all, like going to the gym or eating your vegetables, it is for your long-term health.
About Yumi Sakugawa
I am a comic book artist and illustrator based in the greater Los Angeles area. My website can be found at:
www.yumisakugawa.com.
Every so often, I make illustrated guides to mindfulness and meditation. You can buy a booklet of them here: (
http://yumisakugawa.bigcartel.com/product/there-is-no-right-way-to-meditate )
In a previous life, I was the online editorial producer of Intent.com. When I am not drawing and thinking of new stories, I am drinking ridiculous amounts of tea, craving Indian sweets and dreaming of the day when I will have my own King Charles Cavalier Spaniel.
I better get off this computer tonight & go hang out with some people I love!
What a awesome 6 hour, thankyou to Dave and all the crew at Roudtuit Caravan park for all the work that went to running this event, well worth marking in the dairy for next yearZayıflama Lida Fx15 ve Biber Hapı zlfvbh burmeh yaza lida fx15 biber hapı ile formda girin burmeh yaza lida fx15 biber hapı ile formda girin Trakya Üniversitesi tabiii en önemliside bize baya bi para getirecek. his family and particularly the children he had artificially created will be happier and far better off without him, not to mention wealthier. Remember and play his music if you want..it was pretty good but don't for get what an absolute failure as man he was. He dies a whiny drug addicted loser.. Save your sorrow for someone worthy