Futurity

Our social lives (and sex lives) are key to good health

We need to start thinking about our social lives as an important factor for our overall health, an expert argues in this podcast episode.
Two friends in rain coats take a selfie on the beach while laughing

Having lunch with your friends may be just as important in keeping you alive as exercising, Linda Waite argues.

Waite’s research on social well-being has provided key insights into how our social lives affect our physical health.

“My dream would be that people would have healthier more satisfying lives,” says Waite, a professor of urban sociology at the University of Chicago.

“If they and we as a society paid more attention to the social and how it connects to everything else, we could help people the same way we provide physical therapy if somebody has an injury.”

The data from Waite’s studies have changed our understanding of what it means to be healthy. Now, she’s insisting that our health care and medical industries need to incorporate social well-being into their practice when treating patients.

On this episode of the Big Brains podcast, Waite explains her work and why your social life is vital for your health.

Click the link below for a transcript of the podcast.

Source: University of Chicago

The post Our social lives (and sex lives) are key to good health appeared first on Futurity.

More from Futurity

Futurity3 min read
When New Moms Use Cannabis, THC Shows Up In Breast Milk
When breastfeeding mothers used cannabis, its psychoactive component THC showed up in the milk they produced. Further, unlike alcohol, when researchers detected THC in milk there was no consistent time when its concentration peaked and started to dec
Futurity2 min readChemistry
Catalyst Turns CO2 Into Renewable Fuel
Researchers have developed a catalyst material known as cobalt phthalocyanine that converts carbon dioxide—a significant driver of climate change—into renewable fuels such as methanol. Published in the journal ACS Catalysis, the researchers studied u
Futurity3 min read
Get Ready For A Very Active Hurricane Season In 2024
Brace for a very active hurricane season this year, warn forecasters. The 2023 hurricane season saw 20 named storms and three major hurricanes from the Atlantic basin, ranking as the fourth most active hurricane season on record. This year’s hurrican

Related Books & Audiobooks