Regular Exercise, a sensible diet and staying away from nicotine are considered to be an essential part of a healthy lifestyle. However, this holds true only for those who also have friends. Lonely people are likely to have a shorter life expectancy. In fact, their life expectancy is that of heavy smokers. Research has revealed that the saliva and urine of people who feel lonely contain high levels of stress hormones, such as cortisol and noradrenaline.
Having friends has lots of advantages. On a physical level, it has a positive impact on the heart and blood vessels as well as on the immune system. Moreover, positive feelings can be contagious, as found out by researchers at the universities of San Diego and Harvard in the USA. "Those who are in the company of many contented and happy people will be happier, too. Good feelings seem to be a collective phenomenon and tend to spread out in the company of like-minded people." is the verdict of the researchers.
(BIO 06/07, 2011)
