How important is your 'tribe' for your health?

Today is the International Day of Friendship, which seems like a good time to reflect on the importance of our 'chosen family', our 'tribe', 'bestie', 'ride or die'. Whatever you call your nearest and dearest, who we spend time with has an impact on our health, happiness, and world view, but to what extent do our friends impact our wellbeing?

The short answer is that they have a big impact, ranging from our emotional resilience to our mental health, but even including our physical health, with good friendships linked to lower blood pressure and even stronger immune function.

Friendship and emotional or mental health

When it comes to emotional and mental health, friendships have a strong impact. Multiple studies have shown that "having social connections is one of the most reliable predictors of a long, healthy, and satisfying life." One study from 2004 even found that people were happier while interacting with friends than with their romantic partners or children - a debate for another time.

The American Psychological Association writes: "Psychological research suggests that stable, healthy friendships are crucial for our well-being and longevity." They continue to elaborate, having reviewed 38 studies, finding that high quality adult friendships that offer support and companionship: "can protect against mental health issues such as depression and anxiety—and those benefits persist across the life span."

Friendships and physical health

While it might not be an enormous surprise that mental and emotional wellbeing benefit from strong friendships, our physical health seems to enjoy a protective shield of friendship as well. In particular, this appears to be connected to how friendships help buffer us from the impact of stress. The Mayo Clinic writes:

"Adults with strong social connections have a lower risk of many health problems. That includes depression, high blood pressure and an unhealthy weight. In fact, studies have found that older adults who have close friends and healthy social support are likely to live longer than do their peers who have fewer friends."

Conversely, loneliness can have a negative impact on our physical health. The BMA writes:

"it’s associated with negative physical and mental health, such as an increased risk of coronary heart disease and stroke, and a risk factor for depression in later life."

The impact of friendship on our behaviour

Here's one that won't surprise you - our friendships have an impact on our behaviour, including our habits (and whether they're healthy or not), as well as our motivation and sense of perspective. If we have healthy, active, motivated friends, we're more likely to maintain healthy, active habits of our own, and to be motivated in different parts of our lives, fuelling a sense of wellbeing. Naturally, that then feeds into our physical health and our mental health as well.

Friendship and its impact on our resilience

The sense of support we get from strong friendships is one of the most important things we could ask for, reducing our sense of stress, and consequently its impact on our body as well. In short, close friendships act as a buffer against adversity, and people with strong social ties tend to be more resilient, recovering more quickly from life's challenges.

For example, The University of Birmingham writes:

"In a study published in Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, researchers at the University of Birmingham showed that the quality of friendship among a cohort of 14-year-olds has a strong association with their ability to deal positively with social exclusion ten years later in early adulthood."

Making time for your friends

While all the information is helpful, we probably didn't need it to know that our friendships are important and valuable to us. What shows up as essential however, are three things:

• Quality over quantity
• Reciprocity and trust
• Emotional intelligence

Making time to nurture those friendships, building connection and trust, is essential - it's also what we enjoy most about our relationships with one another. Finding ways to spend quality time together however, is not always the easiest thing in a busy and overstimulated world.

A spa day or break is one way to make that time, where shared relaxation creates the right environment to lower stress and encourage connection and unguarded conversations to strengthen emotional bonds. Benefits include:

• The calm, shared space and uninterrupted time allows for meaningful and intentional connection and shared experiences.
• It provides time to reflect and reconnect.
• Positive experiences together cements bonds with one another.
• The relaxed environment encourages vulnerability and trust in a judgement free space.
• The sense of nurturing alongside one another creates an atmosphere of self- and mutual care, and reinforces the sense of investment in one another. Whether you are looking for a group spa break or a spa day for two, explore luxury getaways, detox retreats, and adult-only experiences that are perfect for sharing at Spabreaks.com.