Socially active live longer

Sep 15, 2010 |

IANS

London, Sept. 14: Friends can make you live long. A new study says that those surrounded by family and friends are 50 per cent less likely to die early than those with no social life.

Socially-connected people live an average of 3.7 years longer. Researchers compared the impact of friends with the effects of quitting smoking, reports the Daily Mail.

Mortality rate among loners with little social support is as high as alcoholics and even higher than those affected by obesity or physical inactivity, the study found.

The researchers analysed data from 148 studies over three decades involving more than 300,000 people.

“Friends and supportive people can make life easier on a basic, everyday level, said the lead researcher,” Mr Bert Uchino said.

He said, “the emotional support people receive from friends and loved ones can help one think about problems in ways that decrease their perceived severity or even make them non-problems.”

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