You’re days into a work project, staring at a screen, feeling anxious about your tight deadline. Mid-afternoon your phone lights up with a call from a friend. You want to connect, but you feel like you don’t have a minute to spare. You let the call go into voicemail.

On the surface, this decision may seem inconsequential. But what if you knew that a decision like this, centered on an opportunity for social connection, could make a difference in the health of your brain? Would you make time for the call?

Ben Rein is author of the book, Why Brains Needs Friends: The Neuroscience of Social Connection. He studies the impact of social interactions on brain health and helps us understand, at a cellular level, the biological importance of human relationships.

After listening to this interview, you may find yourself picking up the phone a whole lot more.

Episode Links

Wired for Connection, Cursed by Computers: How Social Media May Be Affecting Our Empathy

The Sci-Fi Hypothesis that Explains Why You Click with Certain People

Interview With Kasley Killam

The Team

Learn more about host, Gayle Allen, and producer, Rob Mancabelli, here.

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