Page 43 - Healthy Brain Living Book

approximately 40 million brain cells, most are influenced either

directly or indirectly by serotonin. When you interact with friends,

serotonin is believed to influence your mood, behavior, sleep,

memory, and learning.

Tip #4 - Longevity Link

Strong friendships also have another interesting benefit. Can

friends help you live longer? Turns out they can do just that.

Studies have shown that strong social networks can give you a 50

percent better chance of living a long life regardless of your age

or gender. That conclusion was based on a study that followed

300,000 people for more than seven and a half years.

Another study, the 2005 Australian Longitudinal Study of Aging,

found that people with good supportive relationships were 22

percent more likely to outlive their peers who had the smallest

number of good friends.

As you would expect, there’s a lot of excitement over studies like

these because they suggest you can modify your life and tap into

similar health benefits. The message is clear: If you have good

friends, you can boost your overall brain health.

Tip #5 - Quality vs. Quantity

Is there such a thing as having the “right” number of friends?

Studies have suggested that it’s not the number of people like you

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