A survey of 300,000 revealed that quality friendships can do as much for your health as quitting smoking or eating a healthy diet.

We all know that laughter and fun is meant to be very good for our health and stress levels, so maybe this new ‘revelation’ won’t be all that surprising to most.

Quality, not quantity, is the important word here (we aren’t referring to how many friends you have on social networks!). These are the kind of friends you can confess your darkest secrets to and spend hours with, not those you want to strangle by the end of the day.

The survey also revealed that not having good friendships is as bad for your health as becoming obese.

So, take good care of the friends you already have and try to make new ones wherever possible. As we get older and a bit more set in our ways we seem to find it a bit harder to let our guard down and get to know someone new. 

We get the feeling that this is one healthy living tip we will all find it easy to follow.