Friends with benefits. Sorry, it’s not what you’re thinking
A culture of strong relationships can greatly improve your health. Here are the advantages of promoting close ties with friends.
The first indicator dates back to 1989: in the journal Lancet, the specialist in Psychiatry David Spiegel published an article that showed that women who were struggling at the time with a breast cancer and had an active social group, had greater resistance to the pain of chemotherapy treatments than those who had a weaker social support. After all, what health benefits can we take from having friends?
It is more than certain that the presence of friends makes us calmer, relaxed and fun. But physiologically and psychologically, the effects of this behavior are much more wide-raging. Starting with the self-esteem and the ability to face adversity. The emotional well-being becomes much more evident in the presence of friends, which results in greater self-confidence and a great sense of control of life.
On the other hand, there are several studies showing that the proximity of friends lowers the incidence of heart disease, largely because of the control of the hormone cortisol, which prevents the stress to take over your mood. Data also showed that the smaller your relationship network is, the bigger is the chance of premature death. The statistic is so high as for smokers.
Being alone has proven to be a problem not only psychological, but it can also affect physical condition, as the status increases the risk of hypertension and affects the sleep quality. It’s common to loneliness, anxiety and stress to settle down – after all, humans have always been animals that survived based in the cooperation with each other.
These days, with the development of new technologies and the growing demand of working conditions, loneliness and lack of friends is evident. Close relationships are rare and thus the social isolation becomes the pattern, which may result in decreased quality of life and in extreme cases, health complications. So do not be shy and strive to strengthen your social bonds.
