Friendship helps us live longer

With the desire to have a healthy life, many people do not hesitate to see a doctor, read books of life long or spend money on rare and precious herbal dishes.But they despise a powerful weapon that can help them fight disease and depression, recover quickly after illness, slow down the aging process and prolong life: Their own friends !

Currently researchers are only beginning to care about the importance of friendship and social relationships for general health. A study conducted in 10 years in Australia has shown that older people with more friends around will reduce the risk of death by 22% compared with those of lesser people. A large study in 2007 found that people with more friends gaining weight were 60% more likely to be obese than normal. And last year, the Harvard University team reported that positive social relations will enhance brain health as we cope with old age.

' In general, the role of friendship in life is not really appreciated,' said Rebecca G. Adams, professor of sociology at Greensboro University, North Corolina. 'People care a lot about family and marriage, but there is little interest in studying friendship. This makes me difficult to understand. In fact, friendship has more impact on mental health than family relationships. '

In the new book titled ' Girls from Ames: The Story of Women and 40-year Friendship ' (Gotham Publishing), Jeffrey Zaslow tells the story of 11 childhood friends living in Iowa. and later moved to 8 different states. But regardless of distance, their friendship persists through college, through marriage, divorce and other crises, including the death of a 20-year-old in a group.

(Photo: Stuart Bradford)

With the use of loose notebooks, photo albums and recollections of the members themselves, Zaslow recorded how strong friendships made their lives and continued their lives. The role of friendship for their health and fitness has been demonstrated through each chapter.

Two of the friends just discovered they had breast cancer. Kelly Zwagerman, now a high school teacher in Northfield, Minn., Says that when she was diagnosed in September 2007, the doctor advised her to be happy with her loved ones. And she came to her friends from her childhood, though they lived away from her.

' The first person I tell is old Ames friends ,' she said in an interview. ' I email them. And immediately, I received encouraging emails, calls and messages. Immediately, I received overwhelming affection from each member of the group. '

When she lamented that the treatment made her throat hurt, an Ames friend sent her a baking machine and a book of instructions on how to do it. Another, though her daughter died of leukemia, sent her a hand-knitted hat because she knew that her head would be very cold without hair covering; and one more sent to a pajama set made of a special material against night sweats.

Zwagerman says she often feels more comfortable talking about her illness to her friends than to the doctor. ' We talked rambling to any topic in this world, ' she said.

Zwagerman believes that friends from Ames are an extremely important factor in her treatment and recovery, studies have proven that her words are right. In 2006, a study conducted on nearly 3,000 nurses who treated breast cancer showed that women who did not have close friends had a four times higher risk of death than women with 10 people. you are up . And it is worth noting, the presence of friends or contact numbers does not involve prolonging life. Patients only need you, it is simple.

Bella DePaulo, a psychology teacher at California, Santa Barbara, who specializes in the study of singles with friendship, points out that in many cases, friendship even has a better effect on health. a husband / wife or family members. In the study of breast cancer with the participation of nurses, having a spouse does not affect the ability to survive.

Many studies of friendship focus on deep relationships among girlfriends, while some studies also show that men also benefit from friendships. In a 6-year study conducted on 736 middle-aged Swiss men, having a partner did not change the risk of heart attack and coronary artery, but having friends certainly did. affect. Smoking and lack of social relationships are the top 2 risk factors.

In fact, there is no clear answer to why you have such great influences. Of course friends can do errands and buy medicine to help sick people, but the meaning of friends goes far beyond material assistance; In fact, being with the sick is not really a support factor.

It is also possible that people with more friendships will have better access to care and health services. But more than that, friendship clearly has great psychological significance. People with good friendships are less likely to catch a cold, perhaps because they are less stressed.

Last year, an experiment was conducted with 34 students at the University of Virginia by taking them to the foot of a steep hill and wearing heavy backpacks on their backs. They were asked to estimate the slope of the hill. Some students stand by their friends throughout the experiment, others are arranged to stand alone.

The students standing with you gave a lower estimate of the slope of the hill. And the more close friends are, the more likely it is that the student will expect the hill to be less steep.

' People with friends feel they have someone to look forward to and look forward to ,' said Karen A. Roberto, director of a geriatric center in Virginia. 'Friendship is a underrated resource. And the strong message of all these studies is: friends help your life better. "