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Weekends Away With The Girls Are Good For Your Health

Weekends Away With The Girls Are Good For Your Health

Our bags are already packed...

Emma Rosemurgey

Emma Rosemurgey

Cancel your plans and get a bag together because a girls weekend is in order and it's for the good of your health. That's because a recent study has revealed weekends away with the girls are actually good for our health, which makes perfect sense to us.

It goes without saying we love our families, but scientific studies have proven friendships can extend our life expectancy, lower chances of heart disease and as strange as it sounds, help us tolerate pain.

Warner Bros.

It's true - psychologists were able to predict the size of a person's friendship group and social network based on how much pain they were able to tolerate.

Having a good group of friends is a great feeling, and that's because hanging out with friends can produce higher levels of oxytocin, the feel good hormone that our bodies produce when we're happy, making us feel great.

Paramount Pictures

Possessing higher levels of the chemical can make people friendlier, more trusting and more generous, which are of course good qualities to look for in friends.

On the other side of the coin, scientists at Harvard University claim those who lack strong friendships tend to be more depressed, have later life cognitive decline and quite horrifyingly, more likely to die at a younger age.

BBC

The study concerned looked at 309,000 people and discovered that a lack of strong social ties increased the chances of premature death by a whopping 50 per cent, which is the same risk associated to smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day.

Despite some research that claims being long distance doesn't have to affect a friendship, it obviously requires more effort to maintain those kinds of relationships.

"Keeping a few really good friends around can make a world of difference for our health and well-being," psychologist William Chopik from Michigan State University said. "So, it's smart to invest in the friendships that make you happiest."

So, it's well worth taking the time to do things with your friends that will make you happy. Get you bags packed, girls.

Featured Image Credit: Warner Bros.

Topics: Life News, Real, Friends, Health