Researchers from Cornell University, Harvard University, and the University of Arizona found that enduring social benefits are linked to slower biological aging and lower levels of inflammation in the body. The study, published in the journal Brain, Behavior, & Immunity — Health, found that people who have a strong sense of belonging are more likely to experience negative emotions.
Imagine that your body has a “biological” age that may not match the age on your passport. This study shows that a stable and happy life—with a good education, friends, and support—helps this biological age “lag behind.” That is, your body ages more slowly, as if it were in more favorable conditions.
The work is based on data from 1,064 adults participating in the long-term MIDUS (Midlife in the United States) project. The authors used a comprehensive measure, the “cumulative social advantage” (CSA), which assessed various aspects of life, including education level, financial stability, support from family and friends, social integration, and lack of discrimination.
In other words, to measure “quality of life,” scientists didn’t just ask people if they were happy. They created a kind of “success index” that included everything at once: whether you have a good education and a stable income, whether you can count on the help of loved ones, whether you have a social circle, and whether you don’t encounter injustice. The higher this overall score, the more social advantages a person has.
Higher levels of CSA were found to be associated with slower rates of epigenetic aging (as measured by biomarkers known as “epigenetic clocks”). They also had lower levels of interleukin-6, a key marker of chronic inflammation that has been linked to accelerated aging.
What does this mean? Think of your DNA as the instructions for your body, and epigenetics as the markings on the margins of those instructions that wear out over time. The “epigenetic clock” measures this wear and tear. In people with a high “success index,” these markings were in much better condition, meaning their cells aged more slowly. And interleukin-6 is like an alarm signal in the body. When it’s constantly elevated, it wears out the body. In socially successful people, this “alarm signal” sounded much quieter.
However, the researchers did not find significant associations between CSA and the stress hormones cortisol, cortisone, and catecholamines. This indicates that the key mechanism by which social factors influence aging may be related to inflammatory processes and epigenetics, rather than the classical stress response.
In simple terms, you might think that it’s all about stress: a good life means less stress. But the analyses didn’t show a direct link to the hormones responsible for the “fight or flight” response. This hints at something deeper: positive social factors influence not so much our immediate reactions, but rather the long-term background processes in the body – the work of genes and the immune system.
The authors note that maintaining social contacts is not only psychological support, but also a physiological resource for the body. The results of the study confirm that social benefits are literally “built into” the biological mechanisms of health and may be an important factor in slowing aging and prolonging an active life.
Socializing with friends, supporting family, and having stability in life aren’t just things that make us feel good. They’re real “fuel” for our bodies. Positive social conditions become part of our biology, helping our bodies stay younger and healthier at a cellular level for as long as possible.
