Why You Should Call an Old Friend Today

In this space, I've often focused on how to prioritize friendships—noting that quality social interactions and nourishing social relationships have a profound effect on our physical and mental health. In fact, they may be one of the most important variables in terms of lifespan. Not only do they help create a sense of meaning in your life, but they also reduce the risk of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

New Study Connects Social Interaction to a Boost in Mood

Now, new research backs this up even further—suggesting that proactively contacting a friend and engaging in a quality social interaction is associated with a meaningful boost in mood that very day. In a study recently published in Communication Research, University of Kansas professor of Communication Studies Jeffrey Hall and his co-authors assigned participants different communication tasks to complete, including engaging with a friend in one of the following behaviors:

• Catching up
• Meaningful talk
• Joking around
• Showing care
• Listening
• Valuing others and their opinions
• Offering sincere compliments

As it turned out, it did not matter which type of the seven interactions it was: They all provided benefits in terms of perceptions of stress, connection, anxiety, well-being, loneliness, and the quality of their day, when compared to the control group participants.

Data collection for this study proceeded prior to, during, and after the lockdowns of COVID-19, which suggests that the benefits of these behaviors are stable even across different circumstances of isolation versus "typical" daily life. It's worth noting, however, that face-to-face interaction had an even higher benefit than interaction through electronics. Nonetheless, all the interactions that included aspects of the previously listed seven activities were associated with a boost in well-being.

Even Brief Connections Have Benefits

Why might something so simple, that doesn't take much effort or time, matter so much to our psyches? The researchers theorize that it involves increasing our sense of belonging. Interpersonal connections—including quality conversations of any form, can make us feel less alone, which in turn can reduce our stress and loneliness while boosting our sense of optimism.

So, you might think that a relatively brief interaction doesn't make a difference. On the contrary, however, small interactions can be the gift that keeps on giving—as they not only will likely give you a boost in well-being at the time that you engage in them, but they help strengthen and nourish your relationships over time—which can boost your health in the long-term even more.

Is there someone in your life that makes you laugh or who you particularly enjoy catching up with? Why not make time for them sometime this week? With reported stress levels in the United States continuing to be high, it may pay off more than you know.

Facebook image: Just dance/Shutterstock

LinkedIn image: GaudiLab/Shutterstock