This week, we’ll talk about something that humanity has wrestled with for millennia: how to build and maintain healthy close relationships. 

And things are not getting any simpler now that such relationships have become optional…  

What’s the use?

Few people would argue that maintaining close personal relationships takes plenty of time and sacrifice. And for millennia, this price simply had to be paid for survival.

Indeed, in the old days, surviving alone was almost impossible. Without the protection and cooperation of the tribe, individual humans were pretty much defenseless against nature. 

But no more. In today’s world, survival doesn’t depend on close personal connections. Simply render some useful service to society and you can buy all the sustenance and protection you need. 

As a result, the nature of close relationships is changing. Many more people are choosing to live alone and stay single, but interestingly, this is not causing greater loneliness. 

And just as well, because healthy personal relationships are crucial for a long and happy life.

The benefits of relationships

There is good evidence that high-quality relationships are important for health and longevity. 

Studies suggest that stress from perceived loneliness could be the most important factor. But there are also other factors like improved health habits and reduced depression risk.  

Loneliness could be just as dangerous as smoking. Although the evidence is not as clear yet, it is clear enough to encourage anyone who regularly feels lonely to make the effort to improve their relationships. 

As an added bonus, regular social interaction also seems to make us happier. This effect is not huge, but it’s significant. 

On the other hand, as we all know intuitively, bad relationships can have the opposite effect. Quality is indeed more important than quantity. 

The takeaway

This evidence points to a simple recommendation for a long and happy life:

Avoid bad hormones from loneliness or unhealthy relationships and get plenty of good hormones from healthy relationships. 

The rest of the week will look at ways to follow this simple advice in our busy modern lives.