We’ve all heard the saying that we are what we eat, equating what we put in our bodies with our overall health. However, have you considered the importance of social relationships in terms of your health and longevity? Scientists have proposed that social interaction and relationships are crucial to health, and there is a growing body of scientific literature supporting the notion that relationships and a sense of social connection are as important---or even more important---than nutrition and exercise.
Social Disconnects in the 21st Century
At this time in history, people are at increasingly greater risk of social isolation. The number of single-person households has grown significantly, and extended family members often live further and further apart in the interest of economic opportunity. Multigenerational households are largely a phenomenon of the past for many demographic groups, and elderly parents often retire far from their extended families.
In this era of email, smart phones and social media, there are some who feel that these devices often decrease the potential for face-to-face connection as more and more people keep their noses buried in computer screens rather than interacting in the world around them. In a recent interview on National Public Radio with William Powers, the author of “Hamlet’s Blackberry: A Practical Philosophy For Building a Good Life in the Digital Age”, the author described a scene wherein he was standing on a street corner in Manhattan with ten other people, and every person was staring into the screen of their smart phone rather than making eye contact with strangers or otherwise interacting with their environment. This, the author purported, was the essence of how Americans (and those in other industrialized nations) are increasingly connected electronically but simultaneously disconnected from their immediate surroundings, losing out on every day social interactions important to their health and general well-being.
The Research Is In
Multiple scientific studies of the value of social connectivity demonstrate very clearly that social connections and a feeling of belonging have a significant impact on physical health.
In one study, volunteers had a cold virus sprayed into their noses, and those with fewer or no social connections were four times more likely to become ill. Another study showed that people who were accompanied by a friend or loved one during a stressful situation had lower blood pressure and heart rate. Significant findings also demonstrate that having few friends or social connections can be as damaging to one’s health as smoking cigarettes or being an alchoholic. Other studies show clearly that levels of stress hormones decrease significantly when social connectivity is high.
Virtually every researcher examining health and social interaction agree that being socially connected with others brings enormous physiological and psychological benefits. Meta-analyses of various studies simply corroborate what everyone already seems to know: having friends and feeling like you are part of a group can improve both the quality of your life and your longevity, and even being married or partnered have also been shown to increase longevity and health.
From lower blood pressure and heart rate to improved immune function, social connections are simply essential to human health and well-being. In fact, studies somewhat surprisingly suggest that social connections (or the lack thereof) are more predictive of longevity and health than exercise or obesity. However, there is no evidence that lonely people are more susceptible to any one particular disease.
Social Media and the Internet
There is still not a large enough body of scientific evidence to conclude whether or not social media and online “virtual” friendships provide similar health benefits as real face-to-face interaction. However, anecdotal evidence does show that individuals who are confined to home or otherwise unable to interact socially with others benefit greatly from online friendships, and that online chat rooms, email and social networking sites can greatly decrease feelings of social isolation and loneliness.
Further research on the health-related impact of online relationships will certainly be forthcoming, but most researchers and psychologists currently recommend a balanced mix of virtual and face-to-face relationships when possible.
Social Connection: A Skill Worth Learning
Making friends and learning how to be a good friend are skills that can be taught, cultivated and improved throughout the lifespan. Children are taught social skills from a very early age, and parental instruction to greet others, smile, engage in conversation and be socially inquisitive can go a long way to fostering skills that children can use to expand and enrich their social networks, simultaneously improving their health and their potential for a long, happy and healthy life.
For adults, loneliness can be a debilitating social condition, and there are millions of adults of all ages who live their lives in isolation. If the research is indeed accurate in its assessment of the value of social connectivity, then loneliness and social isolation are actually a public health issue in dire need of our attention and action. And with our very health and longevity at stake, there is indeed ample reason to reach out, get connected, and make sure that others whom we love do the same.
By Keith Carlson, RN, BSN, BDO Contributing Writer
26-Aug-2010 , Copyright © 2005-2010, BlackDoctor.org. All rights reserved.
