People are more powerful than pills (EP7)

I’m not going to reveal today’s Brain Booster because at the start of the episode I give you a clue and ask you to guess what the Brain Booster might be. So let’s launch straight into today’s Health Headline: People are more powerful than pills.Study after study has shown that supportive relationships are the number one way to improve our health, happiness and longevity. And it took me a long time to get my head around that.Nurturing relationships in midlife are a greater predictor of good health as we age than cholesterol level and obesity. Stop and think about that. We’re obsessed with losing weight and keeping our cholesterol down, yet we’d improve our health and longevity to a greater extent if we improved the quality and quantity of our relationships. That’s mind-blowing.All those years in medical school I spent learning about blood tests and medications and surgical procedures — and it turns out the best medical advice I can give you is to spend more quality time with the people you love. If you want to improve your health — first and foremost — improve your relationships. Tune in to find out why.* * * * *What’s missing from modern medicine is taking on board the wisdom of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama when he said: Humans sacrifice their health for wealth — and then have to spend their wealth to regain their heath. The reason our species has survived for so long is because of our interdependence and ability to co-operate. We know this intuitively. We know that social connections are fundamental to our health and happiness. But we don’t seem to be living that way. Our current culture pushes us to prioritise work and career advancement and getting a better income and ticking things off our to-do list, at the expense of looking after our health; at the expense of getting enough sleep, exercise, sunshine, and good nutrition. And at the expense of our relationships.There are so many pressures constantly pulling at us that maintaining friendships and just being present with our family can take a back seat. And that’s evidenced by the fact that more than 40% of marriages in Australia, the US and UK end in divorce. It’s not that work and paying bills isn’t important, but paradoxically, we’d actually be more productive at work, we’d get ahead more quickly, we’d be more successful, and we’d handle life’s stresses more effectively, if we spent more time building good relationships at work and at home.And here’s the other irony. We think that the reason we’re working so hard, and keeping so busy, and not switching off, is to improve our quality of life and that of our family. But is it really improving our quality of life?* * * * *And today’s Whether Report answers the question: I’ve heard that loneliness is as damaging as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. I’d like to know whether this is actually true. I’m an introvert and I like spending time alone. I’m happy in my own company, but I’d like to know whether I should force myself to become an extrovert for the sake of improving my health.  * * * * *Please subscribe to my podcast so that you don’t miss an episode, and send your whether questions to: [email protected] resources and references visit: https://drhelenapopovic.com/podcast/