Most of us know cultivating a healthy lifestyle means incorporating exercise, better food choices, and caring for our mental health. But now we are learning that having close friendships can also contribute to healthy living. So how does this work? How can friendship affect our health? Read on to learn how friendships contribute to healthy living.

With the current rise in work-from-home jobs, homeschooling, and curbside services, staying home is more prevalent than ever. Things like online worship services and the convenience of video conferencing add to the isolation. Let’s face it. In today’s world of fast delivery, we never have to leave the house! Although staying home has certain advantages, what is happening to our friendships? Are we missing out on the benefits of engaging with other people? 

The Importance of Friendships to a Healthy Lifestyle

In our busy lives, making time for friends often moves down on our priority list. However, recent studies show a direct correlation between friendships and our overall health. An article from the Mayo Clinic about adult health confirms the importance of friendships to a healthy lifestyle. “Friends also play a significant role in promoting your overall health. Adults with strong social connections have a reduced risk of many significant health problems, including depression, high blood pressure ,and an unhealthy body mass index (BMI).”

Without a doubt, friendships can add to a fulfilled, fruitful, and happy life. Now that we know the importance of friendship for a healthy lifestyle, let’s look at the specific health benefits we can expect when we spend time with friends.  

Why Are Good Friendships Beneficial?

After many days secluded at home, I felt distracted and discouraged. My eyes glazed as I stared once again at the computer screen trying to get work done. I struggled to concentrate, and my husband could sense something was wrong. “Why don’t you plan a lunch date with one of your friends? That always lifts your spirits.” My husband knows me well. I took his wise advice and sent a quick text to a neighborhood friend. She jumped at the chance to get out of the house for some much-needed girl time.

A coffee date with a close friend ranks right up there with my favorite things to do! We may laugh, cry, or chat, but our conversations always uplift me. There are many benefits to having friends, and it doesn’t take a scientific study for me to know what I get out of our time together. Still, research confirms what we’ve sensed all along. Friendships are good for the soul.

Friendships can reduce stress, build your self-confidence, help you cope with trauma. A good friend will walk alongside you through life’s trials and celebrate with you in life’s special moments. My friend and I talk about everything from kids and grandkids to doctor appointments and home repairs. We reminisce about our time working together and look for new places to shop. We never run out of things to say. 

Stepping away from the computer screen and having a day out with a friend definitely lowers my stress level. So if we know how beneficial friendships are, why don’t we make them a priority? Why is finding time for friends so hard?

Friendships and Health

When my schedule gets overloaded, plans with friends are the first things to go. Getting together with friends is even more of a challenge with young kids at home. As a mom of a preschooler, I knew if I didn’t set and keep playdates with other moms of preschoolers, the isolation would get to me; I couldn’t let that happen. I wanted to be the best mom I could be for my child.

When another young mom on my street reached out and invited me over, I answered with an enthusiastic yes. We formed a cherished friendship by simply getting together to let the kids play at least once a week. Truth be told, I believe we enjoyed those playdates even more than the kids.

Now in my empty nest season, it’s easier to find pockets of time to devote to friendship building. But even with less on my to-do list, friendships grow distant if I’m not intentional about scheduling them. If you’re struggling to find time for cultivating friendships, here are a few helpful suggestions:

• Keep get-togethers simple. An overthinker like me can get bogged down in the details. Where will we go? What’s the best time to meet? Who should we invite? What day works best for everyone? Among the million things to consider, stay focused on the purpose. You don’t want to overwhelm yourself by adding stress. A good friend will be more than happy to come over for a chat on your couch over a store-bought cup of coffee. Nothing fancy required. Keeping it simple will remove the tension and allow you to experience the full benefits of time spent together.
• Be a good listener. If you haven’t seen each other in a while, you may be tempted to fall into the trap of what-ifs. What if we don’t have anything to talk about? What if it’s awkward? Don’t let the what ifs rob you of the joy of friendship. This is the perfect time to lend a listening ear. Find out what’s been going on in her life. Listen to her cares, concerns, and fears. Being a good listener is a blessing we often overlook in friendships.
• Make use of technology. Maybe you’re in a place where getting out of the house is hard physically. Chronic illness or being a caregiver may hinder you from leaving the house as much as you’d like. If so, enlist the help of technology to connect with friends both locally and long distance. There are a variety of apps available for group chats, like Facebook messenger, Voxer, Marco Polo, Telegram, and more. These apps allow you to talk through recorded voice messages or written text. And for those wanting to see each other face-to-face, consider Zoom for more than just a work tool. Zoom provides a way to enjoy friendships across the miles without ever leaving home. 

Healthy Living Includes Healthy Friendships

Not all relationships are healthy, so we need to grow those friendships that bring smiles to our faces. Some relationships can drain our time and energy, leaving us depleted and unable to give anything to our life-giving friendships. We let our good friends slip away unknowingly, as other things or people keep us busy.

In her post 5 Steps to Building a Healthy Relationship at susanuneal.com, writer DeeDee Lake encourages us to maintain healthy relationships with this: “Evaluate and improve your relationships just as you do the other aspects of your life. Great ones share common healthy characteristics.” When we make time to evaluate our relationships with the people closest to us, we can grow healthy, balanced friendships.

Just like any other priority in life, what we tend will flourish. Let’s renew our commitment today to revisit what we’ve neglected and tend to our friendships. We’ve missed each other, and it’s time to get back in touch. We will reap life-changing benefits when we discover firsthand how good friendships improve our health.

About the Author:

Kristine Brown is a ministry wife, mom, stepmom, and Mimi who shares a message of “becoming more than ourselves through God’s Word” at her website, morethanyourself.com. Kristine is a freelance writer and author of the book, Cinched: Living with Unwavering Trust in an Unfailing God. She and her husband live in Texas.