Harvard Says – This Is What Happens When You Have a BFF Getaway

If you’re dreaming of a BFF getaway with your friends, start packing. Harvard says it can improve your health and help you live longer. When I tell you the crazy benefits of being with your friends, you’re going to want to text them and start planning!

Can’t get away with your BFFs right away? Plan a “girls’ stay vacay!” Send the kids to the grandparents, make some Pineapple Upside Down Jello Shots and spend an evening at home talking and giggling.

This Is What Happens When You Have a BFF Getaway

I know that spending time with my friends always makes me feel better, but when I read a post on Harvard Health, I was honestly shocked at what they had to say.

A BFF getaway is as healthy as getting enough sleep.

It’s true. Spending time socially with people we care about is as healthy as getting ample sleep.

Hanging out with friends is as powerful as eating right.

Harvard says the type of rich social connection you get with your besties is so good for you that it’s like eating healthy. Let me see… girls weekend or steamed broccoli?

I think I know which I’ll opt for.

BFF time is as important as not smoking.

Being with people you care about and who care about you is as crucial to your long-term health as being a non-smoker. In fact, Harvard says there have been dozens of studies that prove it. 

Great relationships make humans happier, healthier, and they even help us live longer.

Time spent with good friends can help protect your arteries.

When you’re dishing with your friends, talking about your hopes and dreams, and just being silly together, it lowers the most dangerous kind of stress. That’s the scary kind of stress that affects your coronary arteries.

You might not get sick as often.

It blew me away to learn that time with my girls can trigger the release of serious stress-reducing hormones. Since stress adversely affects our immune system, a nice dump of hormones that counteract it are super good for us.

Not just any old friendship will do.

Casual friendships don’t work the same magic for our health as our most meaningful relationships do. You need friends around you that you truly want to be with and who you love.

In other words, friends who you want to nurture and help. Those are the significant bonds you need to cultivate and care for. They need and deserve your time.

It isn’t so much about what you do, it’s about how you do it. 

The article on the Harvard Medical School site says that all interactions with our friends aren’t the same. Getting together to eat too much or drink so much that you’re hungover the next day really doesn’t cut it.

(Although no one says a few drinks or a slice of a decadent Bailey’s Cheesecake would be anything short of AWESOME!)

You need to carve out time to talk and share and listen to your BFFs with no distractions. What makes you and your friends the happiest when you’re together? Do more of that.

Some BFF Getaways You Might Love

In closing, let me share a couple of links to a few trips you and your besties might want to plan for. They’re not terribly expensive and if anyone complains, remember to tell them it’s for your health!

Travel and Leisure has an amazing list of girl trips. After reading about the Pink Jeep Tours in Sedona, I’m ready to leave right now!

Trip Advisor has a great list of the top 10 best “cheap resorts.” The Tamarack Lodge and Resort looks pretty amazing.

Good luck on your BFF Getaway!