A recent study has found that the quality and quantity of your social life can have a large effect your health. The study, Social Relationships and Mortality Risk, is a meta-analysis of 148 published studies looking at the topic of the health effects of one's social relationships.
The analysis found that the influence of one's social interactions affects your risk of mortality to a degree that is comparable to other well established risk factors. In other words, poor social interaction has an equivalent effect on your chance of dying as smoking 15 cigarettes per day. Poor social relationships are twice as risky, health wise, than being obese.
In short, make great friends - quickly!
However, the benefits one gains from high quality friends extends beyond better health. Friends also expose you to ideas and places that you would not otherwise experience. Not to mention the intrinsic joy of spending time with friends and loved ones.
Unfortunately, the road to acquiring these friends is less clear. I have yet to find a decent book or website addressing the matter. It is certainly a topic that is worthy of some thought.
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