We live in a society where we feel like we need to be constantly working — 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The grind is a true struggle — it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, stressed out and exhausted, which ultimately leads to burning out. We often feel like even though we have a lot on our plate, we must continue to go on. Breaks will only slow us down… Breaks will not get us promotions… At least, that’s what we tell ourselves in our heads.

Turns out, that is not necessarily the case though. Scientific research is now showing that having a tight-knit group of lady friends is a great thing for your mental health. It’s even better if you can take some time off or go on a trip with them.

Harvard Health Publishing notes that garnering strong social connections “not only give us pleasure, they also influence our long-term health in ways every bit as powerful as adequate sleep, a good diet, and not smoking.”

Believe it or not, it is these social connections that can lead us to live a very long and healthy life. People who have good friends to count on have healthier habits and diets, have fewer health issues and overall, feel exponentially happier.

The research also dives into the converse situation as well.

It seems like those with less connections tend to experience more depression, late-life cognitive decline, and shorter lifespans than those with more. This is due to both behavioral and biological factors.

If you don’t already know, stress can manifest itself in your body in very physical ways — it can affect your arteries, gut health, immune system, and insulin resistance.

When you don’t have any social connections, you are more likely to deal with stress, which then causes these other very real issues. Basically, it is a vicious cycle.

Here is something that is even more fascinating — psychologists have stated that they can even tell how large a person’s social network is simply by measuring their tolerance to pain. It’s true — if you feel you have support from loved ones, you can probably get through the tough parts of life just a little bit easier!

This is why human connection is so important. Friends don’t just help us feel happy emotions, but they prevent us from feeling so much pain in our lives.

Other evidence suggests that spending time with friends can increase the production of oxytocin, a hormone in your body that helps your brain communicate feelings of happiness.

The more of this hormone a person has in their body, the more trustworthy, generous and friendly they are.

The more time you spend with friends, the better friend you become… And the better friend you become, the more people want to spend time with you! All seems to make sense when you think about it logically.

This isn’t the best news if you are someone who lacks social skills, but it’s not something that is completely out of your control. It is a skill you can work at throughout life. And if you are good at making friends, we hope this serves as an inspiration to spend more time with them!

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Source: Shareably / Harvard Health Publishing