Now that sounds about right. We are social creatures. I’ve previously heard that that couples live longer than single people. However, I had never seen actual research showing the correlation between people with social interactions living longer until I read the article by Dr Joseph Burgo.

His article states “A 2010 meta-analysis of 148 different research studies found that ‘people with stronger social relationships had a 50 percent increased likelihood of survival than those with weaker social relationships.’

Health Benefits of Friendship
The somewhat fuzzy term “social relationships” doesn’t have a universally accepted definition, but for researchers in the social sciences, it encompasses friends as well as family members. It also includes belonging to a church or volunteer organization.

To grasp the full impact of these findings, consider the comparative role of other known risk factors on survival: social relationships have about the same influence on the odds of dying earlier as smoking and alcohol consumption, and even more than physical inactivity and obesity.

So while losing weight and eating healthy top the list for most popular New Year’s resolutions, consider including “make new friends” on the list” (Taken from the full article The Health Benefits of Friendship by Dr Joseph Burgo). The article is fascinating and you should take a minute to read through it.

The article also points out the importance of quality of your relationships. This totally makes sense. We’ve all been in those relationships. The kind that cause stress and problems. Stress obviously doesn’t add to the health benefits of social relationships.

Good Friend Checklist