In today’s generation, most people suffer from different kind of illnesses that takes time to get cured. It was said that Prevention is Better than Cure and I believe in that statement. Sometimes, we suffer too much because we self-inflict some wounds or pain, or any discomfort we feel. We then magnify the intensity of the pain just by thinking we are truly weak than we currently are. I have found out some interesting tips to enjoy longer life and ease the pain.

 

VITAL BOND.

 

These might sound like mere home-spun sentiments, but in fact, there’s solid scientific evidence that friendship can extend life. A research psychologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, Shelley Taylor once said that `Social Ties are the Cheapest medicine we’ve got`. More than a hundred studies attest to the health benefits of friendship. People with strong social networks are shown to:

• Boost their chances of surviving life-threatening illnesses.
• Have stronger, more resilient immune systems.
• Improve their mental health.
• Live longer than people without social support.

Some researches and experiments were done just to support the theory or the study of psychologist to prove that vital bond is indeed essential in having a longer, healthier life. Recently, scientist have zeroed in on how social connections affect recovery from specific health problems. In one university, specifically Yale, psychologists studied 194 heart attack patients, those who reported emotional support were three times more likely to be alive six months after their attack than subjects who had no support.

I also believe that people with plentiful social support are also less likely to suffer from depression, anxiety and other types of mental illness. Swedish researchers found that those who had satisfying social contacts were 40 percent less likely to develop dementia than those who had few- unsatisfying relationships.

 

STRESS FACTOR.

Stress triggers the famous fight or flight response. When we are stressed, our heart races, blood pressure goes up, muscles tense and the nervous system goes on red alert or on what we commonly say high alert.

We should deliberately avoid stress because stress can take physical toll, contributing to heart problems such as constricting arteries and heart attacks-even increasing the tendency of our blood to clot. According to the researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, when study subjects were asked to do stressful tasks, just by having buddy in the same room-even if a friend wasn’t helping with the task-made the task doer’s heart rate and blood pressure less likely to increase.

 

 

BOOSTING IMMUNITY.

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Social support can blunt the effects of stress according to Ohio State’s psychologist, Janice Kiecolt-Glaser. When she was tracking the health of 69 people caring for a spouse with Alzheimer’s disease, they found that caregivers who had good social support when the study began showed measurably stronger immune responses one year later than those subjects who had no such support. Researchers also believe that having reliable friends when trouble strikes has fewer stress hormones course through the body. The immune system can be vigilant in patrolling the body for bacteria and viruses, since it’s not constantly reacting to emergency messages from stress hormones. Over a lifetime this little difference may add up to big protection against the ravages of time and illness.

 

 

To sum it all, having good friends by your side can lower the risk of such illnesses and would even boost our immune system so that our internal organs can function well and we tend to live longer. This is not an absolute answer for life longevity but is one of the other factors that may add up years in our life. Exercising and eating healthy foods can also help people prolong life.

 

 

 

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Source: Readers Digest Issue September 2002