Friendship and Longevity

Many people in the world lived long. Friends, have you given a thought to why people live long? Some might say healthy and happy live long, or as they say in our country, those who have long AYUSH in their destiny. All these may be true. But if you go by research, another factor is at play in our longevity. And it’s having friends. It seems decades of research found that people with friends outlived those who have the fewest by 22%. Wow, that’s saying a lot. It seems so simple. Make friends, live long. Make more friends, live longer.

So, what does this indicate?

Let us explore a bit deeper:

One study concluded that your health risk of having fewer friends was equivalent to you smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Well, hold on before you start sending Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn requests. It is not just in the quantity. But in the quality of the relationships. These friendships must be genuine ones. Research also found that only 50% of people you consider friends thought of you similarly. This scenario is because every person’s definition of good friends differs based on their experiences and perspectives.

The key is to  identify the finite good friends from those you are friendly with to ensure you have a good relationship with them. It is okay to let goa few connections, as simply having a lot of superficial connections can make you insecure and alone. But it is crucial to have a few close ones that make it count for longevity.

Ideally, almost all of us will have at least one friend. Some of us are lucky to have few more. The bottom line: Do not mix up connections with friendships. Keep them all. You do not have to let it go of good connections to maintain few close ones. If you like being around and spending time with few people who are not necessarily close friends, that is fine. Feeling good only helps your overall well-being. So, hold out to them, but leverage on close ones.

How does it help?

Well, there is a feel-good factor, some happiness and emotional support. How else do close friendships help us live longer? It seems close friends not only help improve our mental health but also our physical health. Studies found these friendships foster good behaviours and healthy habits. Naturally, these help us maintain good health and live longer. One study that ran over couple of years found that having good friends was linked to:

9% higher likelihood of exercising

17% lower risk of depression

19% reduced likelihood of experiencing strokes.

The key is to have few good friends and have more meaningful interactions with them, but keep a watch for those bad influences as well- Like how our parents used to warn us during our childhood and teen years to stay away from bad influences. In our adulthood, we must make those choices. If there are people who urge or force you to drink or smoke, you may want to relook at spending time with them. As adults, we must learn to make right choices.

It is a known fact that isolation is as harmful to our mental and physical health and longevity. And now we know that close friendship can help us live longer-confirmed scientifically. Having these good friendships matters more I our golden years because we are always aware that we only have many more years to live. We see our peers passing away. We understand the importance of living well every single day. And what better way to do it then with our good friends? Adding life to years, that is longevity after all!

Waiting for your feedback on this blog.

Anil Malik

Mumbai, India

16^th October 2024