This past year has been a tough one in terms of the changes in our routine with relation to work, school, and home life.
Fortunately, in many places, things are getting back to a new normal.
One of the things you might have missed is spending time with friends.
This is only natural. And now there is new scientific evidence that supports how healthy it can be to spend time with friends.
Recent research has shown that friends may be more important than you think.
You might expect that contact with family members would make you happier than seeing your friends. But a recent study of 50,000 people asked them to rate their increased happiness on an 11-point scale from ‘not at all’ to ‘extremely’ when they were with their friend, parents, and children.
On average the study’s participants rated their happiness with their children at a 0.7% increase, 1.4% when they were with their parents and an 8% increase when they were with their friends.
Other studies have found that people with supportive friends and who valued their friendships highly are likely to live happier and healthier, even longer lives.
A long-term US survey found that compared to friends, and a lesser extent spouse and children, the family was shown to have little effect on an individual’s health and wellbeing.
Now of course, we need to exercise common sense. If you’re going out for fattening meals or lots of alcohol when you see your friends, this will not be the healthiest choice. But you certainly can find fun and healthy things to do, even if it is just a walk and talk along a local hiking trail.
One other thing to consider before we go–you might not have that many friends. You move away, people get busy, or change. Again, this is a natural part of life. It seems to easy to make friends when we are kids. It seems a lot harder once we are an adult with all sorts of ‘stuff’ going on.
But now that you know how important spending healthy time with friends is, it might be time to focus on making a wider range of adult friendships in your area, especially if you’ve moved to a new neighborhood or city recently. Check out this new course to learn more:
https://eternalspiralbooks.com/transform/shop/how-to-make-friends-when-you-are-an-adult/
To your best self!
