How Your Friends Affect Your Health
By Genevieve Cunningham
Friends are an incredibly important part of life. As humans, we're not meant to be alone. We're meant to create groups where we belong. We're meant to experience life together. And this is certainly where friends come into the picture. But choosing friends can be tricky. Our friends affect so much about our lives -- our decisions, our appearance, and even our health! If you want to live your best and healthiest life, take a look at how friends can affect your health, plus a few tips for choosing wisely as the years go by.
Friends Encourage Movement
We tend to be friends with people who have similar interests. And even when our interests differ, we can be affected by the interests of those around us. If we have friends who hate exercise, it's going to rub off on us. Try to make at least a few friends who appreciate the importance of good health, and then push each other to be the best you can be.
Friends Lift Your Mood
Friends are so good for our mental and emotional health. When we spend time with friends, we're better able to regulate our moods. And better moods are definitely tied to better health. Choose friends who are fun and make you laugh. Choose friends who want to spend time with you and help lift your spirits. Keeping friends who do this helps you maintain moods and boosts your health overall.
Tips for Choosing Well
Choosing good friends might take some trial and error, but with a few things in mind, you can keep the best company around! A few tips for choosing wisely might include:
Get to know yourself - You really need to know who you are and what you like before bonding too tightly with friends. When we know ourselves, we can choose friends who complement us. Discover your basic morals, values, hobbies, and interests, and then look for friends who can be supportive of who you are as a person.
Set boundaries - Good friends understand that boundaries are important. Even if your friend doesn't like exercise, a good friend will encourage you to pursue the things that you find important. If this isn't happening, set a boundary. If your friend encourages bad habits, set a boundary. If we learn to set boundaries, we set ourselves up to maintain friendships with meaning.
Friends are a huge part of who we are now and who we become in the future. If we want good health in the future, we have to choose friends who encourage that. Use these tips to keep good friends in your life so that you can enjoy life in every way moving forward.
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Monterey Park, Calif.