Science Says Hanging Out With Your BFFs Twice A Week Is Great For Your Mental And Physical Well-Being. Yes!

We see so many posts on Instagram of people boasting about how they choose to stay in and read over socialising. They seem perfectly content to say it’s the best way to spend the weekend. If you fall in that category, we have bad news! According to a study by the Northwestern University, meeting your BFFs at least twice a week keeps your health – both mental and physical – in check. We understand, it’s  so tempting to just cancel all your plans and crash on your bed. But hey, choosing Netflix over BFFs? Nope. Not good.

Good health

According to the study, people who have a large circle of friends remain in good health even as they begin to age. They fall sick less often and even recuperate faster from illnesses or even injuries. You know, how when you fall ill, you feel this need for caring and nurturing. That’s your body’s way of telling you that you need a lot more than medicines to recover. Tumhe dawa nahi doston ki zaroorat hai, apparently.

 

Reduces stress

Similarly, when you are going through emotional and mental stress,  due to work or personal relationships, all you need is your BFF! Researchers from UCLA concluded that women deal with stress much better if they have social support. The main reason behind this is that when we are surrounded by people we love, our brain releases oxytocin, the happy hormone. So the next time you break up or feel like crap, you know you’re supposed to withdraw into a shell and listen to Adele on loop. Instead, go out with your entourage and kiss your stress good bye!

 

Improves intellect

In fact, (hold your breath) did you know that you become sharper and smarter by just hanging out with your friends? Okay, before you go all like ‘no my friends are dumb’ on us, it doesn’t matter even if your usual conversations would make a 10-year-old feel smarter. This is how it goes. When you’re talking to your friends often, it improves your psychological well-being and the research says that positively affects your intellect and memory.

While, meeting your friends twice a week is advised by the study, staying connected over call helps too! So the next time your boss gives you flak for being on call, let them know you’re just working on your cognition!