ScienceDaily: Just one quality conversation with a friend boosts daily well-being

“Over 900 study participants from five university campuses -- before, during and after pandemic lockdowns -- were directed to engage in one of the seven communication behaviors on a single day, and then reported back that night about their feelings of stress, connection, anxiety, well-being, loneliness and the quality of their day.

As it turned out, Hall said, it didn't matter which of these quality conversations someone had. The very act of intentionally reaching out to a friend in one of these ways was what mattered most. "One of the take-home messages of this study is that there are many paths toward the same goal," Hall said.

He said the study was also designed to explore the impact of both the quality and quantity of daily communications. "There's a lot of good research that says the number of interactions you have as well as the quality of interactions are both associated with being a less lonely, happier and more connected person," said Hall. This study found that once is enough, but more is better. Participants who chose to have more quality conversations had better days.””

My Takeaways:

• Research shows that even one conversation with a friend or someone that you can have a quality conversation with can boost your well-being and happiness for that particular day and in general.

• The important aspect was the intention of reaching out with your friends. Of course sometimes we’ll have our friends reaching out to us, but it helps that we do the same as well.

• The relationship has two aspects, the number of interactions and the quality of interactions can affect your well-being for that day. So if you are more of an extrovert maybe checking up on many of your friends can fill your social quota! But if you may be more reserved, perhaps having a nice conversation with a close friend can provide the same benefits as well :)

Full article is here!

Do you talk to your friends often?

#Friends #Conversations #Health