With a busy schedule and lifestyle, one needs to create a healthy balanced lifestyle that includes time for friends, family, and yourself. This can directly or indirectly boost your overall health, but this is certainly a good point of reference for those men who have difficulty justifying this to their partners. A study from the University of Oxford shows that it is important for men to have regular gatherings with friends, which can contribute significantly to good health.
Psychologist Robin Dunbar has Conducted research which indicates that to be healthy men should engage in social activities with friends at least twice a week which can fully benefit male friendship. The study shows the positive impact of activities like having a pint or engaging in team sports, these activities showed that meeting up twice a week with the four closest friends is crucial for maintaining strong bonds and a healthy lifestyle.
The research also concludes that regular social interactions among men will help to have a stronger immune system, increased endorphin release, reduced anxiety levels, and heightened generosity. Maintaining friendships will also help to prevent depression linked to financial and job insecurities, and individuals with strong social connections tend to recover more swiftly from illnesses, a study suggests.
The study also revealed that nearly 40%, struggle to incorporate frequent male bonding into their routines, or have only one time in a week. Dunbar also suggested that despite spending 20% of their day interacting with others, face-to-face meetings also play a crucial role in sustaining robust friendships and socialising over a few beers serves as an effective means of achieving this.
“Bonds can be formed through a range of activities from team sports to male banter – or simply having a pint with your pals on a Friday night,” Dunbar states. “However, the key to maintaining strong friendships is to meet up twice a week and do stuff with the four people closest to you.” Benefits of strong male friendships include a stronger immune system, the release of endorphins, an overall decrease in anxiety levels, and (apparently) even higher levels of generosity.
