Healthy living is not just about eating right, being active, and sleeping well. A U.S. study shows that it’s also about having friends.
Almost everyone will say eat right, sleep well, and be physically active if you ask someone what a healthy life is. But, according to a study by researchers at the University of Chapel Hill in North Carolina (USA), that’s not all. You also need to have friends! These researchers say social relationships are as meaningful as food, sleep, and sport for a healthy life.
The researchers studied four samples of the American population to assess their health status: blood pressure, blood pressure, waist circumference, and BMI. The study concludes that more socially connected people have the lowest risk of having a “physiological disorder.”
Kathleen Mullan Harris, the study’s lead author, says that having peers helps children and adolescents reduce the risk of abdominal obesity. For older adults, friends mitigate the risk of high blood pressure and diabetes. More generally, social relationships also contribute to promoting physical activity among friends.
Friends are good for your health, which is not the case with isolation. So all that remains is to make friends and do activities with them.
And if you don’t have any friends, go out and meet people!
It’s good for your health. 🙂
