Friends

The friends you choose may be affecting your physical health.

People often say choose your friends wisely, and now there’s some scientific evidence that doing so can help your health. A new psychological study finds people with positive experiences in their close relationships appear to have better physical health. Previous research has focused on how relationship conflict or satisfaction can impact stress levels and blood pressure. In this current study, however, researchers looked at how either type of relationship, good or bad, affects a person’s health day by day.
“Both positive and negative experiences in our relationships contribute to our daily stress, coping, and physiology, like blood pressure and heart rate reactivity,” says lead author Brian Don of the University of Auckland in a media release. “Additionally, it’s not just how we feel about our relationships overall that matters; the ups and downs are important too.”
In total, 4,005 people completed daily check-ins of their blood pressure, heart rate, stress, and coping levels on their smartphone or smartwatch. Study participants also shared their experiences and feelings about their closest relationships, including positive and negative memories, every three days.
Other factors may have changed people’s relationships, and in turn, their health, Dr. Don adds. The COVID-19 pandemic affected how people interacted with others or how often they could see their friends and loved ones.

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