How important is social connectivity to health?
Social connectivity – spending time with friends and family, taking part in group activities or having a sense of community – may be among the most important predictors of health.
Study upon study shows the myriad ways human connection plays a valuable role in positively supporting a person’s physical and mental health.
Having strong social ties has been shown to:
- Dramatically lower rates of disease and premature death. Those who lacked supportive relationships had a fourfold increased risk of dying six months after open heart surgery.
- Improve our long-term happiness. People’s happiness correlates to the happiness of others with whom they are connected – and people who are surrounded by happy people are more likely to be happy in the future.
- Decrease stress during major life transitions. Higher levels of happiness and optimism were associated with lower levels of stress and greater increases in perceived social support during life transitions.
- Support recovery. One study showed that higher scores on the Recovery Assessment Scale were related to both social support as well as engagement in activities.
And, the quality of our social networks has a lifetime impact on well-being as we age.
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