Relationships help people live longer
Family and friends may do more than just provide companionship: they also boost our longevity, making as much of a difference as not smoking.
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Family and friends may do more than just provide companionship: they also boost our longevity, making as much of a difference as not smoking.
The quality and quantity of an individual's social relationships has been linked not only to better mental health but also to lower morbidity and mortality. Researchers examined 148 studies involving almost 308,849 people on the effects of relationships - such as those with friends, family, roommates and spouses - on the life span of the individuals. The studies, conducted in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia, followed people for an average of seven and a half years.
They found that among adults those with strong social relationships lived an average of 3.7 years longer than those with weaker social relationships. The effect held up even when the researchers adjusted their figures for factors such as age and health status. It was observed that strong relationships had an effect comparable to that of giving up smoking and were more effective than other known risk factors such as obesity and alcohol abuse.
The analysis doesn't prove that relationships directly help people live longer, but it seems clear that relationships come with more than just emotional benefits and that they influence longevity and health. The health benefits could be attributed to the fact that relationships reduce stress and boost the immune system. On the other hand, people with more relationships may also live longer because they're healthier to begin with and that they could be more active and have more energy to engage in social activities.
The quality and quantity of an individual's social relationships has been linked not only to better mental health but also to lower morbidity and mortality. Researchers examined 148 studies involving almost 308,849 people on the effects of relationships - such as those with friends, family, roommates and spouses - on the life span of the individuals. The studies, conducted in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia, followed people for an average of seven and a half years.
They found that among adults those with strong social relationships lived an average of 3.7 years longer than those with weaker social relationships. The effect held up even when the researchers adjusted their figures for factors such as age and health status. It was observed that strong relationships had an effect comparable to that of giving up smoking and were more effective than other known risk factors such as obesity and alcohol abuse.
The analysis doesn't prove that relationships directly help people live longer, but it seems clear that relationships come with more than just emotional benefits and that they influence longevity and health. The health benefits could be attributed to the fact that relationships reduce stress and boost the immune system. On the other hand, people with more relationships may also live longer because they're healthier to begin with and that they could be more active and have more energy to engage in social activities.
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