If you’re rolling your eyes at the prospect of seeing family and friends over the holidays, don’t: Researchers say those visits could just save your life.
That’s the takeaway from a new study out of Scotland, which noted a direct connection between social isolation and death.
The researchers found a 39% increase in the risk of death for individuals who never received visits from friends or family.
“Friends/family visit frequencies [less than] monthly were associated with a higher risk of mortality indicating a threshold effect,” the researchers declared, based on data from 458,146 participants in the UK Biobank project.
Even those who got out of the house to attend a group activity weren’t spared if they were otherwise isolated from loved ones — in fact, their elevated risk of death was one percentage point higher than those who lived completely isolated and didn’t attend a group activity (50% vs. 49%).
Not only that, but even if you live alone and healthily, “Never having friends/family visits whilst living alone potentially counteracted benefits” of your healthy lifestyle, the researchers said.
That said, even occasional visits from friends or family — even as little as once a month — could have a positive impact on your health and significantly reduce your risk of death.