How strong are your social connections? The science indicates strong social connections lead to life longevity.  

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in 2-ish minutes a day,  through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life. 

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and social connection is one of the greatest factors in determining long term happiness. Another would be optimism and you can see how those two go hand in hand.  

More than social connection determining fulfilled happiness, it’s also been linked to increased life expectancy, in fact, social scientists are discovering that social connection is as important as obesity, cholesterol, or smoking has on your life expectancy.  The science out of Harvard and other studies suggest that if you have meaningful social connections you have a higher likelihood of living longer.  

In a May 2019 CNN article. It mentioned “a recent review of 148 studies that found that people who are isolated face a 50% greater risk of premature death than those who have stronger social connections”.

Maybe this just seems like common sense, but it’s something that I am thinking about.  How strong are my social connections?  Am I investing in the people I love?  Am I creating deep meaningful relationships that will stand the test of time?  Am I part of a community that I enjoy, like a hobby group, church, networking groups, moms group?  All of those things matter when we are out in the world looking for social connection.  I invite you to contemplate where you would consider spending more quality time to enrich your social connections.  

Until next time, do us a favor and follow our Instagram feed @everydayhappinesswithkatie because we are about to share some exciting news and we don’t want you to miss it. 

Inspired by:  https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/hsph-in-the-news/active-social-life-longevity/ 

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