Your gut microbiome, the gut species that live in your intestinal tract, impacts your health. Science shows that. But let’s forget what you know about your gut microbiome for a minute. There’s a new kid on the block in terms of your wellbeing – and it goes by the name of your social biome.
Just as your gut has good and bad bacteria, your social life has a similar yin-yang. The people you surround yourself with and the quality of your relationships can build you up or tear you down. From your mental health to your happiness, your social connections have an intricate influence that science is only beginning to unravel.
So, what makes up this “social biome” anyway? And how do you optimize it? Let’s explore the complex ecosystem of relationships and how it affects your health and well-being.
The Make-Up of Your Social Biome
The people closest to you – your inner circle of friends, family members, and co-workers you click with – make up the core of your social biome. They have an outsized impact on your well-being. When they are supportive, caring, and engaged with you, you tap into their good vibes and you feel uplifted, and understood, like you can take on challenges with backing.
Your social biome includes your in-person relationships as well as our digital connections on platforms like Facebook or Instagram. It’s a dynamic web of ties that shift and evolve as you move through life. For example, becoming a parent expands your social circle, while changing jobs or moving could reduce interactions with old friends or colleagues.
Without these close interpersonal bonds, you feel more exposed and vulnerable. Small setbacks that you could normally shrug off might plunge you into loneliness or anxiety without trusted friends to lean on. Over time, isolation can manifest as depression.
Now you see how much the quality of your relationships dictates your state of mind. The people who offer understanding and affection are emotional anchors. Meanwhile, fair-weather friends rarely check in when you need them most.
In many ways, nurturing our social biome is as vital for wellbeing as other healthy lifestyle factors like diet and exercise. Being available for loved ones, building new connections, and reducing negative interactions can all help us thrive.
How Your Social Biome Affects Your Health
Your social connections affect you in profound ways, like the bacteria in our gut. If you don’t get enough positive social contact, your mental or physical health can suffer. Research links loneliness and isolation to higher risks of health conditions – even dementia and cognitive decline.
Nurturing your social biome also pays off. Spending time with supportive friends and family helps lower anxiety, bolster immunity, and can help you live a longer, fuller life. In other words, your relationships either give you strength or sap it away. When it comes to relationships, quality beats quantity. Science tells us that having a ton of friends doesn’t necessarily make us happier or healthier.
What matters is having meaningful connections – even if it’s with a smaller circle of people. Intimacy and genuine support count more than having a packed social calendar or tons of Instagram followers when you don’t really know them.
Making sure you have healthy connections with those around you. Your mental and physical health depends on it. Quality bonds built on trust and compassion are what our minds and bodies really crave – and that’s what every social biome needs at its core.
Does Social Media Help or Harm?
Social media allows you to connect with many people – hundreds, even thousands of friends and followers. Impressive numbers, right? But take a step back and ask yourself – how many of those connections are truly meaningful?
Sure, it feels good to get likes and comments. Yet those quick hits of validation don’t sustain you in the same way that deeper, offline friendships do. The people you can confide in, joke around with, and rely on during tough times – those bonds nourish your soul in an entirely different way.
Even with all those social media friends, it’s still possible to feel lonely. Because those distant acquaintances don’t provide the understanding, comfort, and support you need. Not like your close, longtime friends and family do.
So, while virtual connections have value, it’s important to nurture the social connections in your real life too. Be available for face-to-face interactions with people who matter most. That’s how you’ll build social ecosystems that not only expand our networks but sustain and nourish us.
A Healthy Social Biome Inspire Healthy Choices
Our social circles don’t just provide emotional support – they can also help inspire healthy habits. Research shows that surrounding ourselves with people committed to exercise, eating right, and other positive behaviors helps those lifestyle choices rub off on us.
When your friends are juicing, working out, and making nutritious meals, you’re more likely to follow suit without even realizing it. Their good habits become contagious, helping to shift your own lifestyle choices.
One study found that when a person has a friend who gains weight, their risk of gaining weight themselves goes up by 171%. But the opposite is true too – slimmer social circles can influence us to pick up better fitness and diet regimens. Having people to share healthy recipes with or exercise with makes sticking to new routines easier.
So, a health-conscious social biome does more than just provide emotional nourishment. It helps us become healthier individuals from the inside out. Our friends and community play a huge role in shaping our choices – for better or worse!
Diversify for Balance
Much like the gut microbiome thrives on diversity, your social biome benefits from a broad spectrum of connections. Engaging with people from diverse backgrounds and participating in activities that bring diverse groups together contribute to a more balanced social environment. Building and maintaining a healthy social biome requires effort and intentionality. Here are actionable steps to expand and enrich your social connections:
- Join a sport team.
- Volunteer in the community
- Take a class.
- Organize community events.
- Visit an elderly neighbor.
- Invite new people into your life.
- Attend inter-denominational or community events.
- Practice kindness towards others
Conclusion: Embrace Your Unique Social Biome
Like a fingerprint, the composition of each person’s social biome is different. Yours might be heavily weighed with family, while your neighbors might center more around work friends or their faith community.
And just as you care for your physical health, you need to nurture the health of your social biome. Ensure your connections are diverse, spanning different areas of life. Seek out relationships that feel meaningful and enriching, not draining. Put in consistent effort to stay connected – check in often with those who matter most.
So, take stock of your unique social ecosystem. Are there any “nutrients” it’s lacking or relationships that need extra care? When you nurture a thriving, balanced social network, it will pay off through good times and bad.
References:
- Zhaoyang R, Harrington KD, Scott SB, Graham-Engeland JE, Sliwinski MJ. Daily Social Interactions and Momentary Loneliness: The Role of Trait Loneliness and Neuroticism. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2022 Oct 6;77(10):1791-1802. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbac083. PMID: 35758315; PMCID: PMC9535790.
- “The social biome: how to build nourishing friendships – and banish ….” 24 Mar. 2021, https: www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/mar/24/the-social-biome-how-to-build-nourishing-friendships-and-banish-loneliness.
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