Blog

Dec 12

Here's a quiz for you: When it comes to predicting future health, what are the 5 most important health metrics or measurements you can think of?

If you guessed things like blood pressure or cholesterol, body weight or waist circumference, well done, they're all important...and I would imagine you're not alone. If you guessed cardio-respiratory fitness, grip strength, or lower extremity power, I'd be impressed and pleasantly surprised, as they are all critically important. However, if you guessed your 5 closest friends and how long those relationships have been intact, I'd be absolutely shocked...and you'd be right.

Of the 5 ELEMENTS we talk about, CONNECT is the one that's easiest to overlook. It can feel a little fuzzy or somehow soft because it doesn't require a blood sample or a white lab coat to understand it. Yet, it underpins one of the most fundamental truths of human health - that we are all social creatures with a biology that has been honed over thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of years to favor operating in small bonded packs. 

In 2010, for example, a study of 148 different studies on the connection between social relationships and the risk of dying in more than 300,000 people in total concluded that those who had the strongest social relationships had a 50% greater likelihood of survival than those who did not; a huge benefit. For perspective, that's 15% better than nutrition and 30% better than physical activity, which are (of course) major levers. Not surprisingly, findings like this have prompted a major uptick in research and have helped us get closer to an understanding of why.

In March of this year, one expert made a strong case that the effect is largely due to the stress-reducing effects of strong relationships, including feeling secure, valued, and cared for. The author goes on to suggest that the magic number of close friends for humans might be 5 and provides several interesting ideas to support the theory. However, for those who like hard, measurable evidence, things got even more interesting in October when a team from Cornell University showed clear physiological differences in those who had a deep well of CONNECT, when compared to those who did not.

By plotting the "biological age" which uses changes in genes associated with aging as well as inflammation and stress markers in a group of more than 2000 individuals at or near midlife as compared to a social connection score across familial, religious, emotional, and community domains referred to as "Cumulative Social Advantage" (CSA), the team was able to show a significant difference. Those with higher CSA scores had slower aging and lower inflammation compared to those who did not. And, much like the compounding interest of a retirement account, the effect got significantly stronger the longer the connection was sustained.

The lead author of the study had this to say: "What's striking is the cumulative effect -- these social resources build on each other over time. It's not just about having friends today; it's about how your social connections have grown and deepened throughout your life. That accumulation shapes your health trajectory in measurable ways. People with richer, more sustained social connections literally age more slowly at the cellular level. Aging well means both staying healthy and staying connected -- they're inseparable."

It's a great time of year to reach out to someone you haven't heard from in a while or recognize those friends or family who are always there for you, no matter what. They are having a bigger impact on our health than we may realize.

Have a great weekend,
Mike E.