Invest in relationships like it is a health behaviour
Social connection predicts survival at a magnitude comparable to well-known clinical risk factors.
Do this
Treat contact as a scheduled commitment rather than something that happens when convenient. Prioritise recurring shared activity over occasional catch-ups, since proximity and repetition are what actually sustain friendship in adulthood.
Why it works
A meta-analysis of 148 studies covering over 300,000 people found a substantially increased likelihood of survival for those with stronger social relationships. The association held across age, sex, cause of death and follow-up period, and remained after adjusting for a range of confounds.
Where it fails
This is observational, so causal direction is not settled - healthier people may sustain more relationships. Loneliness interventions in trials produce far more modest results than the epidemiology implies, which is a real gap.
How you’ll know
Count the people you saw in person this month without a practical reason. That number is the one that predicts things.