Dr. Robert Waldinger, who worked for years as Director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, discovered something surprising: People with stronger connections to others have a lower risk of death. Harvard researchers also found that as study participants aged, those in happier relationships could weather pains more easily. However, those in unhappy relationships experienced the exact opposite and experienced physical and emotional pain.
Even an act as simple as holding hands could help relieve pain and act as a minor anesthetic. “Relationships are like stress relievers,” Dr. Robert Waldinger said. “Because they calm your body down, they take you out of fight or flight mode, and back to equilibrium.”
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