Julianne Holt-Lunstad, PhD, an assistant professor of psychology at Brigham Young University, has found that dealing with people who arouse conflicted feelings in us can raise blood pressure more than dealing with people we don’t like. Participants were hooked up to portable blood pressure monitors, and Holt-Lunstad and her colleagues found that blood pressure was highest when people were interacting with someone they had mixed feelings for. What especially surprised Holt-Lunstad was that these interactions caused higher blood pressure than those with people the research subjects felt completely negative about. She explains, “We suspect that people we feel positive toward can hurt us that much more when they make a snide comment or don’t come through for us because they are important to us. Friends may help us cope with stress, but they also may create stress.”

     Having lots of friends can boost your immune system, help you survive longer after a heart attack, fight serious illnesses such as cancer, and increase your life span. With such positive advantages, you should make sure to increase your number of friends, but also keep in mind the importance of avoiding stressful, low-quality friendship and seeking out positive companionship.

Tina Turbin

Obviously, there are ways to turn back the clock physically, and these are surely important, especially when it comes to adopting healthy habits such as eating a balanced diet, avoiding smoking, and getting adequate rest and exercise. Research is showing, though, that it’s habits that affect people on the inside that really yield anti-aging benefits, things which lead to a sense of inner peace, connection to others and a happy mood.  Researchers show that there are four main activities that can result in this age-defying inner life—volunteering, connecting with friends, practicing one’s faith, and keeping oneself in a good mood.

Boosting your health and defying the aging process doesn’t have to be a chore. If you follow these health and longevity boosters, the last years of your life are sure to be the best!

Tina Turbin

The same study also determined that the number of people who discuss important subjects with family members only increased from 57 percent to 80 percent, and those who depend solely on their spouse for such intimate discussions increased from 5 percent to 9 percent.

So what does this mean for you? It may be harder than ever to fight loneliness in society and to form intimate connections with others, but the health benefits are worth the effort to forge friendships with a large number of people.

Start visiting with friends on a regular basis and befriend their own friends, family, and acquaintances to instantly increase the number of friends you have. There are countless ways to meet people in your community as well. You can get involved in volunteer work, take local classes in subjects and hobbies you’re interested in, or start a book club at your neighborhood bookstore or café. You can also take advantage of online social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace, but with the view of using these to set up real-life meetings with the friends you make online, taking the safety precautions of meeting new people in groups of people you already know and in public places, of course.

Tina Turbin