How Friendships Improve Your Mental Health

Your Friends Improve Your Longevity

Filling your life with quality friendships becomes even more necessary to our health as we age, since how connected you feel to others, especially your friends, is a better predictor of one’s longevity and overall mental health than other contributing factors. How so may you ask? A multigenerational study conducted by Harvard analyzed the secrets to happiness and long-term health, as it revealed loneliness reduces a person’s longevity, while individuals who are more socially connected tend to live longer, happier, and healthier lives. Just as a positive friendship can improve our health, an unhealthy friendship can be damaging to our physical and mental health due to the ongoing drama and stress that friend can bring into your life.

The Science Behind Friendship

A study conducted by James Coan, a psychology professor and director of the Virginia Affective Neuroscience Laboratory at the University of Virginia, measured the stress hormone cortisol, in sixteen married women using MRI scans. Researchers compared their physiological responses to an electric shock while they were holding their partner’s hand, a stranger’s hand, or undergoing jolt therapy alone.

The results showed only one-third of the sixteen women had their cortisol levels decrease within their brain when they were comforted by a close companion, whether it be their life partner or a close friend. When we feel supported, it creates a buffer to help the body from absorbing the full impact of the stress we are faced with. These results further prove that having a meaningful friendship or relationship in one’s life can dramatically decrease the stress an individual can feel when dealing with a challenging situation, and how social connections can truly improve one’s mental health, stress levels, and happiness.