How long has it been since you reached out to someone, or made a meaningful connection with a stranger, even just for a few minutes? If you can’t remember, or it’s been a long time, you could improve your heart health by getting back out there. That’s because there’s a correlation between people who have good connections with other people, and people who have healthy hearts, especially as they age.
According to Ian Weisberg, the reason behind this has to do with how your brain processes interaction. When it makes a connection with another person through a shared experience, an offer of help, or something else, you get a boost of chemicals that reinforce the behavior. Those make you feel happier and more relaxed, and can also help isolated, or lonely people feel less of the emotions that often come with that.
Make More Brain Chemicals for Better Heart Health
Interacting with others can provide you with heart benefits since your brain will produce those chemicals and the relaxing effects of them will make their way throughout your body and all its systems. You don’t have to do anything big to feel this way, either. It can be a small moment of connection, such as a smile from a stranger or holding the door for someone who thanks you for your kindness. Your blood pressure and heart rate can both be lowered by these types of experiences, which are good for the health and longevity of your heart.
Make Your Way in the World and Meet More People
Even if you’re not sure how to build stronger connections with other people, says Dr. Ian Weisberg, the simple act of getting out into the world and being around others can help you feel less alone. You never know who you might meet or get an opportunity to interact with, and that can encourage you to get out and about again. You can also volunteer with people or pets, or find other ways to build friendships and relationships. That network can help your heart.
Human connection is important when you’re working on making your heart healthier and stronger, so you want to make sure you’re working on it as much as you can. Especially if you’re older, or you’ve recently moved to a new place, you might find that it’s not as easy to build true connections with the people around you. Looking for shared hobbies is one of the ways you can start finding more people like you, though, and that will give you additional opportunities to meet more people and boost your heart health at the same time.