IT’S merely a fact of life that jetting off with your best girlfriends to somewhere warm and sunny is going to make you feel pretty good about life.
But according to new research, regular girls’ holidays are actually key to keeping happy – AND they have a positive impact on our overall health. Even if we do drink about 10 bottles of wine while we’re there.
Psychologist Dr William Chopik told Well + Good that friendships “are a way to derive all the benefits of being in a relationship with someone without the enormity of it.”
Explaining how friendships enrich a person’s life and generally makes them happier, he said: “These are relationships of choice.
“You choose to hang out together because you enjoy each other’s company.”
And while this all sounds well and good, what is it about a girls’ trip specifically that plays such an important role in both physical and mental health?
Describing how they allow you to connect more with your pals, Dr Chopik added: “You can sit down, look them in the eye, have a true back-and-forth and read each other’s body language.
“They can see you and your facial expressions. You’re emotionally responding to things and you can pick up on their emotions. You don’t always get that through a phone call.”
A recent study by Harvard University also found that going away with friends has noticeable health benefits because “social connections like these not only give pleasure, they also influence our long-term health in ways every bit as powerful as adequate sleep, a good diet and not smoking.”
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