Give your health a good workout

Next year will change when people around the world will realize that their health is not only physical and mental, but also social. Social health focuses on relationships; it’s part of your overall health and well-being that comes from connecting with family, friends, coworkers, and community.

The focus on public health has increased dramatically in recent years. In particular, the Covid-19 pandemic brought attention to our lives and their decline. According to a Meta-Gallup survey, 24 percent of the population all over the world they are lonely. The Belonging Barometer Survey The American Immigration Council also found that 74 percent of Americans do not feel connected to their community.

That view is consistent with changing attitudes: today, people spend an average of 24 more hours alone and 20 fewer hours with friends each month compared to twenty years ago; participation in civil society, membership in local groups, and membership in religious organizations has declined; and the number of single-person households has more than doubled since 1960. Another study showed a dramatic decline in the number of close friends among older adults: in 1990, only 3 percent of Americans had no close friends; today the number is more than 12 percent.

This problem inspired initiatives such as the US Surgeon General’s promotion of loneliness as a public health priority, and the World Health Organization’s establishment of an international organization focused on human communication.

Many people, however, still underestimate how important relationships are to their longevity. In fact, public health is linked to a 50 percent extra for longevity, making it as important to our lives as avoiding smoking, fighting obesity, and exercising regularly. We urgently need to prioritize and invest in public health. This is how it is.

Make Social Health a Priority

To stay healthy, you nourish your body by walking 10,000 steps a day or sleeping eight hours a night, for example. To stay mentally healthy, you can meditate every day or go to the clinic every week. Living a healthy lifestyle requires consistent goals and consistency. Try the 5-3-1 Guideline: try to interact with five different people each week, have at least three close relationships, and spend an hour a day interacting, preferably face-to-face. As we all need to consume different calories, these numbers may be higher or lower than what you thrive on; use it as a starting point to see what public health looks like for you.

Start Small

Simple actions can make a big difference in your health. For example, research has shown that people tend to underestimate how much a kind message via text or email will be appreciated, and even a few phone calls a week can reduce loneliness. So try connecting first: instead of looking at headlines while waiting in line or putting on a podcast while walking, send a photo to a friend or call a relative to chat. Unlike taking care of your health and well-being, taking care of your health also benefits the people you interact with.

Think Big

Hot on the heels of the mental health industry, the next level of health care in our economy will focus on public health. Businesses and investors are already jumping in, with innovations such as gyms, personal coaches, and AI companions on the rise. But no matter what your career, you have the opportunity to create a great future. For example, teachers can teach relationship skills in the classroom; doctors can assess isolation during appointments; builders can include collection points in their designs; City officials can support community builders; and employers can create cohesive workplace cultures.

Stretch Your Muscles

Depending on your lifestyle and circumstances – like recently moving to a new city and needing to build people into your new home, or working remotely and craving face-to-face interaction, for example, you may need to stretch. your social media muscle to grow your social network. But why? Research shows that relationships develop through frequent meetings and shared experiences: that the more time you spend with someone, the closer you become. For example, one study looked at the social networks of students for a year and a half as they transitioned from high school to university, and found that new relationships formed only if they communicated regularly and did things together. Similarly, another study revealed that, for an adult who has recently moved to a new city, it takes at least 50 hours to turn a new friend into a friend; when we are together, friendship becomes stronger.

Strengthen Existing Relationships

Stretching is about increasing the amount of connection in your life; toning is about improving the quality of communication. Doing so requires passion and vulnerability. In one study, researchers found that people like you more when you confide in them—and you like the people you confide in more. Choose the right context: revealing your information is viewed favorably by people you already know and by new acquaintances in one-on-one conversations, but not necessarily by strangers in public. Go deeper: sharing something intimate leads to more love than sharing more. A survey of more than 4,600 people in the US, India, and Japan found that people of different cultures find interactions more effective when they go beyond small talk to benefit through ideas, information sharing, or support.