Friends Are So Good for You!

Posted by Jane on 16 March, 2009  Email This Post -  Print This Post

When times are hard remember who your friends are.  You know that an hour spent with a good friend can give you a real boost and there is plenty of scientific research to tell you why.

Happiness is Catching

Yes, it’s true, you can catch happiness from your friends. Isn’t that wonderful? Researchers at California University and Harvard measured the happiness of almost 5000 people over a period of 20 years. What they found was that when an individual was happy it spread through their network of friends, and then their friend’s friends! And what’s more the effect could last for up to one year!

Women’s Friendships

You will probably have heard of the flight/fight response, when our bodies respond to a stressful situation by releasing adrenalin, to help us either fight our way out or run like the clappers! Well, some women scientists have looked again at this original research which was carried out only on men. They have discovered that when under stress women release the hormone, oxytocin. Oxytocin is the ‘love’ hormone. The hormone that helps women bond with their newborn babies, for example.

Turn to a Friend

When women are under stress they are actually helped by being with their friends. We like to talk things through. We’re not gossiping, we need to talk, we’re managing our stress!

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