Social Animals
This will surprise absolutely no one, but having a network of good friends is highly beneficial to our health and well-being. What some people may not know (I didn’t) is just how measurable the benefits can be.
A lot of studies have been done on the length of cellular-level structures in our body called telomeres. These are the “endcaps” of our chromosome strands in the cells, protecting them from damage, the way the little plastic cap on your shoelace keeps it from fraying. While longer telomeres aren’t always the best things to have (studies have correlated long telomeres with some kinds of cancer, for example), in general long telomeres keep the aging process at bay, lowering the risk of degenerative diseases such as heart disease and dementia. This is oversimplifying things by quite a bit, but having long telomeres is good if you want a long and healthy life.
A number of factors influence telomere length. It turns out about a third of these factors are genetic in nature, something we as individuals can’t control. But a large portion of factors are environmental, something we do have some degree of control over. One of those environmental factors is having a network of friends. Studies have shown individuals reporting stable, supportive social networks to have significantly longer telomeres than people living in relative isolation. Whether or not actual physical contact with friends is a necessary component, I did not find any information on.
The question one might ask in learning this is, “How do I go about obtaining a good friendship network?” Well, I am probably not the best person to ask, as my friends while solid are few in number. But one thing I have learned is that to have good friends, one must be a good friend…this requires time, energy and patience, but can have enormous rewards. It turns out one of the rewards may be a longer, healthier life.
Here endeth the lesson on friends and telomeres for social animals such as we.
Bike Newbie 