Topic for Feb 11 (Tue)

[Kristin55]

Strong Friendships Are Good for Health — Mostly!

Experts say there are a lot of mental health benefits to having good friendships, especially as we get older.

And a recent study agrees that having strong friendships can improve both our mental and physical health.

However, the study adds that there are downsides to these friendships too!

Let's start with the good news.

Researchers looked at data from almost 13,000 adults over the age of 50 in the US.

These people were asked about their friendships, including the number of friends they had and how often they communicated with them.

Their mental and physical health was also studied.

The results showed that having good friends was associated with a 9% increase in the likelihood that people would exercise, and a 17% reduced risk of depression.

Strong friendships were also linked to a 19% reduced risk of having a stroke.

A psychology professor from Brigham Young University, Julianne Holt-Lunstad — who wasn't involved in the study — said it makes sense that friendships can have these positive effects.

She told NPR that people who have stronger friendships may have "more of a sense of meaning and purpose in their life."

She added: "That can lead them to take better care of themselves and take less risk, because they have people who depend on them, or are encouraging them and looking out for them."

But being part of a friendship group can also lead to some less useful behaviors, according to the study.

Having strong friendships was also associated with increased likelihood of smoking and heavy drinking.

But that didn't mean these people were living shorter lives — in fact, they still often lived longer than people who didn't have strong friendships.

The researchers said perhaps these people can get away with drinking a bit of alcohol because of the other positive health effects they get from their friendship groups.