Today I was reading an article on news.com.au about friends. (And can I also say that news.com.au has been annoying lately – I wish that the articles were edited with more care. There are a lot of mistakes!) Anyway, research has shown (great phrase) that good and bad habits will “transfer” between friends. Which kind of makes sense. I’m very pleased about this because I have some friends with great habits – and I can even think of instances where their habits – and maybe opinions – have rubbed onto me. Hopefully for the better!
The ongoing Framingham Heart Study (a very fancy name for a longitudinal study in Boston) has found that happiness spreads across social networks. It was found to spread more readily among friends of the same sex and could reach three degrees of separation - from a friend to a friend of a friend. How amazing is that! So today I'm going to be grateful for my friends. I've got lots of good friends - probably less now than when I was in my early 20s, but they are great. I also think the way that I've made friends, the connections, sometimes makes me smile. I love thinking about how long I've been friends with some of these people! It's a bit sad really, because it is evidence of how old I'm getting. Even my "new" friends have been around for a while now! But I am very lucky!
Oh, I'm also very grateful to Samantha for cooking a chocolate cake for dessert tonight...
An interesting study as they were originally looking at how obesity has become an "epidemic" - a negative thing. Then found positive effects such as happiness and the effect that happy friends can have upon the major issue of depression in patients with heart disease.
ReplyDeleteYes, I've read the web-site and it is an amazing study!! Lots of family similarities as well.
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