Who are those who live long? Maybe the ones who are healthy, happy and, as they say in our country, those who have long AYUSH in their destiny. All of these may be true. But if you go by research, another factor is at play in our longevity. And it’s having friends. It seems decades of research found that people with more friends outlived those with the fewest by 22%! Woah, that’s saying a lot, isn’t it? I mean, it seems so simple. Make friends, live long. Make more friends, live longer!
So, what’s all this indicating? Let’s explore a bit deeper.
Some interesting dimensions
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One study concluded that your health risk of having fewer friends was equivalent to you smoking 15 cigarettes a day! Well, hold on before you start sending our Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn requests. It’s not just in the quantity. But in the quality of the relationships. These friendships must be genuine ones. Research also found that only 50% of people you consider friends thought of you similarly. This scenario is because every person’s definition of a good friend differs based on their experiences and perspectives.
The key is to identify the finite good friends from those you are friendly with to ensure you have a good relationship with them. It’s okay to let go of a few connections, as simply having a lot of superficial connections can make you insecure and alone. But it’s crucial to have a few close ones that make it count for longevity.
Ideally, almost all of us will have at least one friend. Some of us are lucky to have a few more. The bottom line: Do not mix up connections with friendships. Keep them all. You don’t have to let go of good connections to maintain a few close ones, right? If you like being around and spending time with a few people who are not necessarily close friends, that’s fine. Feeling good only helps your overall well-being. So, hold on to them, but leverage on the close ones.
How does it help?
Well, there is a feel-good factor, some happiness and emotional support. How else do close friendships help us live longer? It seems close friends not only help improve our mental health but also our physical health. Studies found these friendships foster good behaviours and healthy habits. Naturally, these help us maintain good health and live longer. One study that ran over a couple of years found that having good friends was linked to:
9% higher likelihood of exercising
17% lower risk of depression
19% reduced likelihood of experiencing strokes
The key is to have a few good friends and have more meaningful interactions with them, but keep a watch for those bad influences as well – Like how our parents used to warn us during our childhood and teen years to stay away from bad influences. In our adulthood, we must make those choices. If there are people who urge or force you to drink or smoke, you may want to relook at spending time with them. As adults, we must learn to make the right choices.
We already know that not isolation is as harmful to our mental and physical health and longevity.
And now we know that close friendships can help us live longer- confirmed scientifically! Having these good friendships matters more in our golden years because we are always aware that we only have many more years to live. We see our peers passing away. We understand the importance of living well every single day. And what better way to do it than with our good friends? Adding life to years, that’s longevity, after all!
