I did a Facebook ‘unfollow’ session a while back.

Anyone posting a nausea-inducing quote about life, love, laughter, or friendship got culled.

Why? Because, variations on the following quote, complete with generic background and inevitable spelling error, are enough to send me into a white-hot rage:

“Some people aren’t loyal to you…they’re loyal to their need of you…once their needs change, so does their loyalty”.

Deep, Brenda. So deep. Unfollow.

These passive-aggressive quotes about friendship aren’t entirely wrong, though, according to various studies published over the last while. If your friends are kak, it could have serious consequences.

The Telegraph notes that a study published this week looked at over 11 000 women, and found that toxic friendships in midlife can exacerbate menopausal symptoms.

The researchers analysed their bone strength over the course of six years and found that women with stressful friendships, or poor social connections, became more fragile around the hips, neck and lower spine, which the experts believe is due to fluctuations in stress hormones, like cortisol, and growth and thyroid hormones.

Scientists at the University of Notre Dame recently found that the strength of someone’s social circle is a better predictor of happiness than a fitness tracker data.

According to the study co-author Nitesh Chawla, a professor of computer science and engineering, data from apps and trackers only reveal part of the story, when it comes to health.

“There’s a qualified self, which is who I am, what are my activities, my social network, and all of these aspects that are not reflected in any of these measurements,” she says. “My lifestyle, my enjoyment, my social network – all of those are strong determinants of my well-being.”

A study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology on women with early-stage breast cancer found that they were four times more likely to die from the disease than women who had a strong and positive social circle.

That’s quite something. Four times!

When it comes to heart health, researchers from Concordia University in Montreal, and Rush University Medical Centre in Chicago found that people who are integrated into their local communities, or who have good friends or strong bonds with colleagues, have a lower risk of developing heart disease.

Finally, recent studies have found that obesity can be ‘contagious’.

…having overweight friends is linked to becoming overweight yourself. A study published in the journal Jama Pediatrics recently studied several thousand US military families and found those who moved to army bases with higher rates of obesity were more likely to gain weight.

The long and short of it is that surrounding yourself with good people is good for your health, so it’s worth putting some effort into cultivating those relationships.

Here’s how to do that.

• Limit social media: while the odd scroll through Instagram is fine, don’t confuse face-to-face time with friends with catching up via Facebook.
• Be careful if you work from home: “While it offers flexibility there’s an emotional cost,” says Sir Cary Cooper, a professor of psychology and health at the University of Manchester. Make sure you get out and socialise regularly.
• Prioritise your friends: “Women tend to be better at this than men,” says Dr Rangan Chatterjee, a GP and author of The Stress Solution. “As the pub culture dwindles, there are fewer chances for men to banter and unwind with friends, which is making males aged 30 to 50 among the loneliest in our society.

Also, post fewer annoying quotes so that people don’t unfollow you on Facebook.

Have a good day further, friends.

[source:telegraph]