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[Barbara Hannah Grufferman] News flash—women age better than men,
and there's one good reason why—stay tuned.
[The Best of Everything with Barbara Hannah Grufferman]
One of the best things men can do for their long-term health and happiness is get married.
But for women, it's this.
Stick close to your girlfriends, ladies—especially after 50.
Turns out the number one strongest social predictor of long life
is having a strong social network.
And women have that in spades.
Women thrive on friendships and see them as critical to our well-being,
especially when going through tough times.
And this clearly helps to keep us resilient as we get older,
adding years to our life and life to our years.
A powerful voice for women and first editor of Ms. Magazine,
Susan Braun Levine knows how crucial girlfriends can be
to our health and happiness, and wrote about it in her fabulous e-book,
You Gotta Have Girlfriends.
So tell me something—are you convinced by the studies that show
that women are healthier, live longer, are happier
because of their relationship with their friends?
[Suzanne Braun Levine] I would be convinced if there were no studies,
because you know it, and I know it—that's what we experience,
and every woman I've ever talked to who's been through anything
says, "I couldn't have done it without my girlfriends."
There are wonderful studies that show, for example,
when women are working together or being together
they release oxytocin, which is a very comforting, loving hormone.
And a lot of scientists are beginning to think that's why we live longer than men,
because our stress is reduced every time we sit down with our girlfriend.
And the medical community is telling us that
girlfriends are more important as we age
than giving up smoking.
[Barbara Hannah Grufferman] You know, a question, too—having girlfriends, we've established,
really does help our health, happiness, longevity—
but it's having the right girlfriends.
What if you have the wrong girlfriends, meaning the ones who really suck your energy
and just make you feel bad about yourself—
what do you do about that?
[Susan Braun Levine] You probably have one or 2 girlfriends that you've outgrown.
And that's very touchy, because it's no fault of theirs,
but you've just—you've moved ahead,
or you've moved in another direction.
The real serious situation is when you have friends who are toxic.
At this stage of life,
a lot of us are trying to do new things, starting new projects,
and we may have friends who can't do that for themselves,
and resent what we're trying to do— >> [Barbara Hannah Grufferman] And aren't going to be supportive of you.
[Susan Braun Levine] and try to undermine.
[Barbara Hannah Grufferman] Someone left a comment on Facebook wanting to know
that—okay, so we're healthier, happier—
we're living longer because we've got friends.
So all of this goodness—how does that extend,
and how does that effect the men in their lives?
[Susan Braun Levine] Well, happiness is contagious, I think we all know that.
And certainly having good girlfriends
who are moving up in your list of priorities
can be threatening to men.
But in fact, a lot of women report having better and better relationships
with their partners who are men,
either because they are simply happier— [Barbara Hannah Grufferman] Uh-hunh (affirmative).
Or they feel better about themselves. [Susan Braun Levine] or because they—yeah, or because they become more compatible.
So to the men I would say, this is all good.
[Barbara Hannah Grufferman] Okay, here's your plan for adding years to your life and life to your years.
Women, we have a remarkable ability to connect,
engage, share, and maintain solid networks
and relationships throughout our lives.
And men, live more like women,
or at least stay closely connected with us.
It could add years to your life.
Girlfriends! Yay! [Susan Braun Levine] Yes! Girlfriends!
[Barbara Hannah Grufferman] Until next time, remember this—
we can't control getting older, but we can control how we do it.
[Best of Everything After 50] I want to hear from you.
Leave your questions about living your best life after 50 in the comments section below.
Connect with me on Facebook, Twitter, and my blog
on AARP.org.