How your social network helps your health
Kids are generally friends with everyone. I’m a kid – you’re a kid – let’s play. As the teenage years approach, they can get more selective with who they want to spend time with. They find their niche and have a handful of close friends.
Adulthood and parent life can see the friendship groups expand due to new networks at work and school. Then for older people, the social group can narrow again as work connections fall away post retirement, kids move out, and close friends move on.
But that doesn’t mean that having just a handful of close friends is a bad thing. In fact, new research suggests that even though we know we need connection for better health, the old adage of quality over quantity is actually true when it comes to your social network. And this small group of friends in older life can actually improve our health.
Using a sizeable sample of 15,000 participants, the study at the University of North Carolina looked at a variety of age groups to determine both the quantity (friends, partners and acquaintances) and the quality of their friendships. The statistics for quality were based on the person’s support and stress they experienced in these relationships.
Between four and 15 years later they then checked in with the participants to see how they were tracking. From here they were able to see patterns, which had affected on the participant’s health.
For instance having a strong social circle helped to reduce incidence of inflammation, blood pressure, and even obesity for younger and older adults. This has potential use for schools, doctors and community groups to ensure that society has adequate social support, which will in turn reduce their risk of ill health.
For the middle aged, it was less about having lots of friends and more about the quality of those relationships. This make sense in that this is the time of life when we tend to be focused on family and the home, so the support we seek tends to come from a few close friends rather than a very large social group.
Depending where you are in your life, focusing on your current relationships or going out to find new ones can be a great investment in your health.
Related links:
What to do when friendships fade
The 3-step formula for better conversations
How to reconnect with an old friend