How our relationships boost immunity
Scientific litsketch on boosting mental health
Can building strong relationships build physical immunity? Research shows that having strong social connections creates a buffer against the negative effect of stress on physical well-being (Jaremka et al., 2013). Stress increases the production of cytokines that increase inflammation in the body and the risk of getting age related diseases. Feeling lonely further increases the amount of cytokines that stress produces, and therefore, increases the risk of getting more diseases that we get as we grow older.
In an experiment, people were given stress by making them prepare and deliver a speech on why they are the best candidate for a job in front of two judges who remained unresponsive throughout the speech. To further increase stress, they were also asked to calculate and speak out the answers to subtraction questions for five minutes in front of the judges. The people’s loneliness was measured with questions like “I feel left out”, “I feel completely lonely” and “My social relationships are superficial”. Their blood tests were done before they were given stress, 45 minutes after and 2 hours after they were given stress to measure their levels of cytokines that cause inflammation.
The results showed that people who felt more lonely had higher levels of cytokines than people who felt less lonely after they were given stress. Investing our time building strong social connections strengthens our buffer against stress, our immunity and physical well-being.
The best thing you can do to protect yourself against the harmful effects of stress is to invest in strong social connections.
Jaremka, L. M., Fagundes, C. P., Peng, J., Bennett, J. M., Glaser, R., Malarkey, W. B., & Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K. (2013). Loneliness promotes inflammation during acute stress. Psychological Science, 24(7), 1089-1097.