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Mums should go out with friends TWICE a week for better HEALTH and HAPPINESS

Having friends is essential for your health and happiness.ย 

But GOING OUT with your pals at least TWICE a week is important for your overall wellbeing, research has found.

A study conducted by Oxford University found that women who go out with their girlfriends often had better health and happiness than those who didnโ€™t.

 

Mums need to go out with friends TWICE a week for better overall health

Robin Dunbar, a researcher on the study, noted that women who get together with four best friends twice a week where they โ€œdo thingsโ€ is of utmost importance.

โ€œDoing thingsโ€ consists of drinking, gossiping, talking and basically overall girlie time. But you donโ€™t have to be a night owl or a big drinker, quite the opposite. The importance lies in releasing endorphins while laughing or having a giggle with friends.

Benefits of time with friends include a faster recovery time from illness, a stronger immune system, lower anxiety levels, as well as increased generosity levels.

Whatโ€™s more, the study found that having a larger number of friends ensures you have a higher pain threshold and they will help you live longer.

โ€œThe figure of twice a week comes from our findings that this is the amount of time that you typically spend with your closest friends/family,โ€ Dr. Robin Dunbar tells The Vancouver Sun.ย 

โ€œFor both sexes (no surprise) having a large, well-integrated social network has a significant impact on both physical and emotional health.ย 

โ€œPeople with larger and/or more integrated networks suffer less illness, recover quicker from surgery, are less likely to die โ€” and even their children are less likely to die.โ€

However, researchers noted thatย only 2 out of 5 women have the time to actually go out with their girlfriends once a week,ย even less often if they have children to care for.

โ€œResearch shows that women, [possibly] more than men, need to maintain friendship connections. It increases serotonin and oxytocin, the bonding hormone,โ€ says Alisa Ruby Bash, PsyD, LMFT.

ย โ€œWe get busier, with more responsibilities. It makes us feel nurtured and validated to hang out with friends we can be totally ourselves [with], minus the outside pressures.โ€

Sounds like it’s time to make some plans with the girlfriends. For health reasons, obviously.

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