The holiday season can be stressful, especially for those that are not close with family or don’t have a network of friends.
The number of positive relationships you have correlates to better health. Some reasons close social ties can improve health are:
- Family and friends encourage each other to adopt healthier habits, such as regular exercise, quitting smoking, or maintaining a healthy weight.
- Family and friends support and encouragement each other to get checkups and take prescribed medications.
- Family and friends help with stress by giving each other an outlet to share worries and concerns and may help each other through stressful times.
- Family and friends help each other during health crisis.
For your health, make a new year’s resolution to be social. Make new friends and keep in touch with family.