|
|
Causes of Fatigue Slideshow
|
|
Is Sleepiness Hurting You?
|
How Pets Improve Your Health Slideshow
|
|
Close Friends, Family Members May Help Increase Longevity
By Denise Mann
WebMD Health News
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD
July 27, 2010 — Pleasant friends as well as family do more than make life worth existing.
These relationships can actually add years to your life.
A recent study shows that people with lots of close friends as well as family around
will likely live a lot longer than lonesome people. The study appears in the
July issue of PLoS Medicine.
The protective effect of having lots of
wholesome as well as fulfilling relationships
is comparable to that of quitting smoking, the study authors state.
"Our social relationships are substantial not only to our quality of life, but
also our longevity," says study author Julianne Holt-Lunstad, PhD, associate
professor of psychology at Brigham Immature University in Provo, Utah, in an email.
"Throughout human history, we possess relied on others for survival such as
protection as well as food, as well as despite modern advancements that may [help with]
certain aspects of survival so that we can live more independently, it appears
that our relationships nonetheless still impact odds of survival," she says.
Relationships Matter
Researchers analyzed 148 studies that examined the effect of social
relationships as well as death risk. Together, these studies included 308,849 people
who were followed for about 7.5 years on average. People were 50% more likely to
be alive incase they had powerful social relationships. This finding held regardless
of age, gender, or health status as well as for all causes of death.
Exactly which class of relationships are most protective isn’t cloudless from the
new study. "We can’t say whether family is more substantial than friends, but we
can say that the way in which social relationships were assessed did matter,"
she says.
The study found that in terms of extended life, powerful social ties can be as
important as losing weight incase you are obese as well as getting active incase you are
sedentary.
"Obesity is a community health problem that needs to be addressed through
effective social programs as well as policies, [and] the alike is real of alcoholism as well as
high blood pressure," she says. "Our data make the case that strength of social
relationships needs to be added to the list of community health concerns. "
One of the best thing to do incase you want to live longer may be to strengthen
your ties, she says.
"Foster existing relationships," she says. "Call a friend, get to know your
neighbors, invite a colleague to lunch, or get together with family. Look for
opportunities to get to know others and/or get involved in your community as well as
support others [because] providing support is associated with greater protection
for mortality than receiving support."
As far as Facebook as well as social networks, the jury is still out, she says. "We
know less about online social networks as well as their potential influence."
Findings Match Previous Research
Robert Kaplan, PhD, a distinguished professor of community health as well as medicine
at the UCLA School of Community Health in Los Angeles, says that the recent findings
make sense as well as mirror those of studies that he has published.
"There are a variety of ways that social support may increase survival." he
tells WebMD. "The stress buffering hypothesis suggests that that others around
you can help absorb or buffer your stress. The direct effect model argues that
having people around can help you pull in wholesome habits as well as behaviors."
This means that incase your partner or friends exercise, you are more likely to
do so as well.
SOURCES:
|
