I get by with a little help from my friends

Study finds being sociable is good for your health, while loneliness is as bad for you as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

A life of booze, fags and slothfulness may be enough to earn your doctor's disapproval, but there is one last hope: a repeat prescription of mates and good conversation.

A circle of close friends and strong family ties can boost a person's health more than exercise, losing weight or quitting cigarettes and alcohol, psychologists say.
Sociable people seem to reap extra rewards from their relationships by feeling less stressed, taking better care of themselves and having less risky lifestyles than those who are more isolated, they claim.

Being lonely and isolated is as bad for a person's health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day or being an alcoholic. It is as harmful as not exercising and twice as bad for the health as being obese.

If this is true, imagine what a visit at your elderly relatives can do, not only for their quality of life, but also for their health... It might be worth planning an extra visit this month, if you want them to stick around as long as possible :-)