Recently, we got an email from a friend of ours on the special importance female friendships have in the lives of women. In addition to making you happier, it turns out that for women in particular, friendships actually make you healthier.

The email described the final lecture at an evening class at Stanford University, given by the school’s head of psychiatry. According to the lecturer, one of the best things a woman can do for her health is to nurture her relationships with her girlfriends.

Why? According to the professor, women connect with each other differently than men. They provide emotional support systems and help each other deal more effectively with stress. And all of this emotional support does a body good. As good, the lecturer explained, as exercising. What’s more, failing to create and maintain meaningful friendships is as detrimental to your health as smoking.

We’ve read other research that substantiates this claim. In 2010, researchers at the Chicago Center for Cognitive and Social Neuroscience found that loneliness can have serious health consequences—both psychologically and physically.
Based on their research, they theorize that the state of loneliness can trigger high blood pressure and lower immune responses. In other words, solitude can actually make you sick.

Just think: having a life-long friend can actually make your life longer. What better reason to pick up the phone, send an email, or even drop by for a surprise visit? Even though any of these simple acts seem like an unnecessary diversion, they’re actually imperative for healthy life.