Social Connections:

 

The Importance of Social Connection

What is social connection?

Social connection is a pillar of lifestyle medicine. Humans are wired to connect, and this connection affects our health. From psychological theories to recent research, there is significant evidence that social support and feeling connected can help people maintain a healthy body mass index, control blood sugars, improve cancer survival, decrease cardiovascular mortality, decrease depressive symptoms, mitigate posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms, and improve overall mental health. The opposite of connection, social isolation, has a negative effect on health and can increase depressive symptoms as well as mortality. Counseling patients on increasing social connections, prescribing connection, and inquiring about quantity and quality of social interactions at routine visits are ways that lifestyle medicine specialists can use connection to help patients to add not only years to their life but also health and well-being to those years.

By MindWise Innovations;

Human beings are inherently social creatures. As far back as we can trace, people have traveled, hunted, and thrived in social groups… and for good reason.

Humans who were separated from their tribe often suffered severe consequences. Social groups provide us with an important part of our identity, and more than that, they teach us a set of skills that help us prosper in a complex environment. Feeling socially connected, especially in an increasingly isolated world, is more important than ever.

Among other positive effects, social connections:

 

Improve your Quality of Life:

If you’ve ever moved away from your social “home base” then you probably understand the degree to which social connections shape your everyday life and well-being. One study showed that a lack of social connection is a greater determinant to health than obesity, smoking, and high blood pressure.

Social connection doesn’t necessarily mean physically being present with people in a literal sense, but someone’s subjective experience of feeling understood and connected to others. One scale that experts use to determine a person’s subjective level of loneliness is the UCLA Loneliness Scale.

Boost your Mental Health:

Friendships offer a number of mental health benefits, such as increased feelings of belonging, purpose, and confidence, amplified levels of happiness, reduced levels of stress, and improved self-worth. A study conducted at a free health clinic in Buffalo, New York found that respondents with insufficient perceived social support were the most likely to suffer from mental health disorders like anxiety and depression.

Help you Live Longer:

Research has shown that social connections not only impact your mental health, but your physical well-being as well. A review of 148 studies (308,849 participants) indicated that the individuals with stronger social relationships had a 50% increased likelihood of survival. This remained true across a number of factors, including age, sex, initial health status, and cause of death.

 

Decrease your Risk of Suicide:

There are a variety of factors that can either increase or decrease your risk for suicide. Boost your chances of staying safe by raising your level of connectedness, which the 

Center for Disease Control (CDC) defines as “The degree to which a person or group is socially close, interrelated or shares resources with other persons or groups.” Relationships can play a crucial role in protecting a person against suicidal thoughts and behaviors.

 

If you’re not sure how to begin forming social connections start by looking inward. What are your interests or hobbies? What kind of personalities are you naturally comfortable around? Devote time to becoming active in your community, volunteering, mingling at work, or joining a club or social organization. If you meet a potential friend, create an opportunity to spend time together.

 

Remember that social connections that impact your overall health and well-being may begin with lattes or a shared meal, but they require time and effort. Forming strong, healthy relationships with others means opening up, actively listening, and being open to sharing what you’re going through. Trying to establish a bond with someone new can feel scary, but it’s important to put yourself out there and attempt to make new friends. These relationships can change the course of your life.

‘“Incorporating social support and connections is critical for overall health and for healthy habits to be sustainable.”’

SOCIAL BONDING:

The time has come to appreciate and use association and social bonds as a component of way of life guiding. People need associations in their lives in the work environment and at home. Cultivating these associations is basic to wellbeing and health. Way of life medication is the developing specialty that attempts to formalize the directing and solutions for sound propensities, including normal activity, nutritious food sources, stress the board, smoking suspension, and moderate liquor use. Social connections and support are essential for maintaining healthy habits and overall health. The social natural model of progress focuses on that we exist in networks and these gatherings critically affect people and their ways of behaving. There are many years of examination that help the significance of social association. Additionally, people have lived in bunches for millennia. In a meta-examination by Holt-Lunstad and colleagues1 at Brigham Youthful College, they analyzed 148 articles distributed on the impacts of human cooperations on wellbeing results, and they detailed that social associations with companions, family, neighbors, or partners works on the chances of endurance by half. High friendly help and social reconciliation are related with the most reduced relative chances of mortality contrasted with numerous other very much acknowledged risk factors for cardiovascular illness .

 Survey article by HOLT-LUNSTAD:

The survey article by Holt-Lunstad and partners is a strong show of the proof base behind friendly association and wellbeing. Low friendly cooperation was accounted for to be like smoking 15 cigarettes per day and to being a heavy drinker, to be more hurtful than not working out, and to be two times as unsafe as obesity.1 also, the staggering impacts of dejection and social detachment have been well-informed.Prescribing social interactions and encouraging friendships has the potential to have a healing effect on patients. Social connection should be viewed and treated as a vital sign much like physical activity. The “Exercise Is Medicine” campaign helped bolster support for the exercise prescription. The time is right for a “Connection Is Medicine” campaign.

Asking patients how many close friends they have, if they belong to any organizations or groups that meet regularly, and how often they spend time socializing with others is one way to ensure that social connection receives the attention it deserves. Answers to these questions can be used to improve a patient’s weight management, diabetes control, hypertension, mood, and even immune function. By exploring the research from 50 years ago as well as the most recent data, this article strives to highlight the power of social interactions and to introduce the concept of the connection prescription as an integral part of the health care equation.

Research on the Health Benefits of Connection:

The health benefits of social connections span from enhanced mood to lower blood pressure and result in decreased mortality. Lisa Berkman and Leonard Syme completed the landmark study in 1979 that showed people with strong social ties were 3 times less likely to die than those who were less connected to others.In fact, they found close social ties to be a protective factor with regard to health: People who had unhealthy habits such as smoking, obesity, and physical inactivity but embraced close social ties lived longer than those who had more health promoting habits but lacked these important social connections.