I just read this article from Women’s Digest: UCLA Study on Friendship Among Women. Here are some of the highlights that I found interesting…
“Women respond to stress with a cascade of brain chemicals that cause us to make and maintain friendships with other women…”
- “Scientists generally believed that when people experience stress, they trigger a hormonal cascade that revs the body to either stand and fight or flee…Now researchers suspect women have a larger behavioral repertoire than just fight or flight…When the hormone oxytocin is released, as part of the stress responses in a woman, it buffers the fight or flight response and encourages her to tend to children and gather with other women instead.”
- “… the “tend and befriend” notion developed by Drs. Klein and Taylor may explain why women consistently outlive men.”
- “…study has found that social ties reduce our risk of disease by lowering blood pressure, heart rate and cholesterol. There’s no doubt, says Dr. Klein, that friends are helping us live longer.”
It seems that the sharing and bonding amongst women is even more important than I realized….just another good reason to make an appointment with me I suppose 😉 Click here