What actions would you take if you knew how important friendships were for your health? Most of us recognize that friendships play an important role in our lives. Yet few of us realize how crucial they are for our health and well-being.  In this interview, Lydia Denworth, author of the book, Friendship: The Evolution, Biology, and Extraordinary Power of Life's Fundamental Bond, shares fascinating research on the science of friendship. She argues that, "Friendship is as important as diet and exercise for both our psychological and physical health." In our conversation, Lydia explains ways of assessing whether our friendships are healthy. She also describes the neuroscience of friendship. For example, she discusses a remarkable study where researchers looked at participants' brain patterns while watching snippets of different videos. Their analysis yielded a surprising finding, as Lydia explains, "Just by looking at the brain processing, they could predict who was friends with who." Lydia Denworth is a contributing editor for Scientific American, writes the Brain Waves blog for Psychology Today, and is the author of two previous books, Toxic Truth and I Can Hear You Whisper. Her work has appeared in publications that include, The Atlantic, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. Host and Producer You can learn more about Curious Minds Host and Creator, Gayle Allen, and Producer and Editor, Rob Mancabelli, here.  Episode Links: John Bowlby and Robert Hinde Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey The Social Brain Lisa Berkman Framingham Heart Study and Alameda County Study James House John T. Cacioppo and Steve Cole Social Neuroscience Evolutionary Mechanisms for Loneliness Popular by Mitch Prinstein Amboseli Baboon Research Project and Jeanne Altmann and Susan Alberts The Amazing Monkey Island in Puerto Rico - Cayo Santiago Your Brain Reveals Who Your Friends Are What Makes a Good Life TED Talk with Robert Waldinger and Arlie Bock If You Liked This Episode You Might Also Enjoy: Episode 150: Marc Brackett on Permission to Feel Episode 148: Adam Waytz on the Power of Human Episode 90: Dan Heath on Creating Moments that Matter Episode 84: Mitch Prinstein on How Popularity Shapes Our Lives 3 Ways to Support the Podcast: Subscribe Tell a friend or family member about the podcast or an interview you enjoyed Rate and review the podcast on iTunes or wherever you subscribe Where You Can Find Curious Minds: Spotify iTunes Tunein Stitcher Google Play Overcast