Live longer!
5 reasons why you should spend more time with your girls
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How dreary life would be without our friends – and especially without those who have grown dear to us for years and who we jokingly say that we will probably never get rid of again. And of course we shouldn’t want that, for good reason.
Friends give us more than just a good time. For example their support. They’re often the first people we call when something goes wrong or has just been totally awesome. And those moments with them are perhaps more important to us humans than you realized. one study According to a firm circle of friends increases not only our mood, but directly our chance of survival by 50 percent – According to the researchers, this is comparable, for example, to a better life expectancy after quitting smoking.
But that’s not all. Here are five good reasons why you should spend more time with the girls again.
Active in the circle of friends
The ideas and enthusiasm of our friends are often contagious. We like to be inspired by the others around us, maybe get to know new things and try something out. Friends often make us fitter as a result. For example, if friend A tries out a new sport, we’re happy to help. studies show that people who do more things with their friends are often more physically active. A practical side effect. But in general, friends usually encourage us to eat out more often, go to the theater or maybe go on short trips – activity doesn’t always have to be just sporty.
From one laugh to the next
Laughter makes you happy, it’s not just a saying. And who would we rather do that with than our girls? They also often help us see things on the bright side and get us out of the negative hole we sometimes want to crawl into. When we doubt ourselves, they are there for us. If something went wrong, it’s never our fault. Friends support us, build us up and make us more confident – and usually more optimistic as a result. That leaves us proven also live longer.
health is the most important thing
We have already clarified that we may live longer if we maintain our social contacts. But did you know that your besties make you even less prone to illness? When we feel isolated and left out of ourselves, it can lead to chronic conditions. For example high blood pressure or depression. Because social isolation is simply bad for our immune system in many ways, like previous ones research indicates. So: Do something for your health! Go out with friends, eat, drink (in moderation so that the health effect is not immediately offset) and have fun!
More in Zen
Now that may not be surprising, but with friends we feel less lonely and that has a positive effect on us. One released in 2018 study showed a connection between existing friendships and one’s own satisfaction in life. They ensure that we are less stressed. Among other things, because we can confide in them. Friends actually always offer us their helping hand when we need it and ensure intimacy with other people.
Mental jogging for you and the others
Conversations with friends, discussions at game night or going to the cinema together: they all have a positive effect. Then According to current knowledge, loneliness increases the risk of developing Alzheimer’s by 50 percent, as it says on the website of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (abbreviated: CDC), an agency of the US Department of Health. So: Meeting more friends means more mental fitness!
Researchers also found that some areas of the brain are better connected and developed in very social people. However, whether this is the case from the outset and makes these people more susceptible to many friendships – or whether the areas are only formed through social contacts – still needs to be researched. In any case, this connection has already been established in monkeys.
Sources used: CDC, National Institute on Aging, Plos Medicine, National Library of Medicine, Huffpost, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health