Maybe you’re thinking diet, exercise, supplements, yoga or meditation. All proven to reduce stress, fight or prevent disease. But there’s more.
What’s more?
Social ties, face-to-face contact. That’s the key. Social ties create an invisible force field for disease-free living. Research says it makes us healthier, happier, smarter and more likely to live longer.
From: The Village Effect: How Face to Face Contact Can Make Us Healthier, Happier and Smarter
“Our social ties influence our sense of satisfaction with life, our cognitive skills, and how resistant we are to infections and chronic disease. While information about diet, exercise, and new classes of drugs has created the life-changing breakthroughs of past decades, new evidence shows that social bonds are equally transformative.”
Want to build a force field for longevity?
Get social.
Without face to face contact, we suffer. Research shows that, “feeling lonely exaggerates inflammation.” That’s bad news for health seekers.
What’s an easy way to start building your force field? Here’s one that adds as many years to our lives as quitting smoking.
Play Cards, Hang Out with Friends
Who knew playing cards was so healthy? Researchers did. They showed how card playing and other forms of face to face contact have a profound power – at the level of our DNA.
Switches On and Off Genes
From: The Village Effect: How Face to Face Contact Can Make Us Healthier, Happier and Smarter
“In 2007, the first study was published that revealed one of the hidden mechanisms linking social interaction to recovery in humans: Steve Cole and his team at UCLA discovered that social contact switches on and off genes that regulate our immune response to cancer and the rate of tumor growth.”
Face to face contact enhances our DNA to fight disease!
(On Inspired Living™ Archive: For more on How to Master Your Exercise DNA for Endurance, click here).
Hanging out with friends may have life-giving power. It appears to give us a mental edge too.
Supports Longevity and Mental Health
From: The Village Effect: How Face to Face Contact Can Make Us Healthier, Happier and Smarter
“One study of almost three thousand Americans found that people with close friendships are far less likely to die young, and in 2004, a Swedish epidemiologist discovered the lowest rate of dementia in people with extensive social networks.”
Live longer, help your brain stay healthy, and protect your heart. Guys listen up. Studies show that, “Fifty year old men with active friendships are less likely to have heart attacks than more solitary men.”
Getting together is good for health. But if you don’t like playing cards, you can try other relationship builders found here OR for secrets to healthy long term relationships, go here.
Now, let’s wrap-up the easy way to build a force field of disease free living.
Wrap-Up
- Get Face-to-Face Contact – Social ties build a force field to make us smarter, healthier, happier and more likely to live longer.
- Play cards and Hang out with Friends Weekly – It switches on genes for mental and physical health benefits. And, social ties support healthy longevity, especially as we age.
