Šifra mládí 8 / Youth Code 8 Sifra mladi 8 | Page 42

Healthy habits

Meet with friends more often!

It turns out that friendly gatherings not only positively influence our emotional health but also can significantly affect our physiological state and literally make us healthier and happier.
Less pain
In one of the scientific reports published by Oxford University, a correlation was observed, in people with a large number of social connections, the pain threshold is higher than in people who have fewer of these bonds. The activity of endorphins: when we spend time with those we love, our body produces a large amount of a hormone of happiness. Endorphins, in turn, affect the opioid receptors in the brain, making us less susceptible to pain. It only remains to understand the cause of the correlation. It is not clear yet, whether a large number of social connections lead to a higher tolerance for pain or people with a low analgesic ability have more difficulty in establishing social contacts. In any case, the connection between tolerance for pain and social interaction is interesting: perhaps a couple more studies need to be surveyed, and meetings with friends will be prescribed instead of painkillers.
Illnesses resistance
Another study, published in the journal of the American Cancer Society, showed that sociable women with strong social ties have a higher survival rate for breast cancer. 9267 women participated in this study- all of them were diagnosed with „ invasive breast cancer“. For 20 years, scientists have studied the progress of their illness, depending on lifestyle, diet and social interaction. And here are the results: socially isolated women are 43 % more likely to relapse and 64 % more likely to die from breast cancer.
Extend your life
The influence of social ties on the length of life is two times higher than the equivalent influence of quitting smoking. This was shown by a survey of 148 studies of social connections and mortality, in which a total of 300,000 people participated. Simply put, the more friends you
have, the less chance you have of becoming a victim of a premature death. Researchers attribute this phenomenon to the negative effect of chronic stress, which is often experienced by people in isolation.
Clear mind
Dutch scientists have found a link between the development of dementia and a sense of loneliness. A three-year lasting study of 2,000 residents of the Netherlands aged 65 years showed that in people who feel alone, dementia developed in 13.4 % of the elderly and only in 5.7 % of those who did not feel lonely. Researchers came to the conclusion that the lack of social ties can lead to a risk of cognitive decline. It turns out that social activity can bring many health benefits into our lives. But even without science, it is clear: love and friendship make our life better. So maybe it‘ s time to make an appointment with your best friend?
18 | YOUTH CODE 8 | 2018