A study based on more than 400,000 people found that older people who receive frequent visits from family and friends have a 39 per cent lower chance of dying. Researchers from the University of Glasgow examined how human connection can reduce the risk of death and found that regular visits from friends and family were the most important factors in extending life.

The study, published in the journal BMC Medicine, found that visits from family often prompt people to seek health care, meaning they live longer. There is also a link with behavior: socially isolated people have more unhealthy habits, such as smoking or heavy alcohol consumption. They also cease or reduce healthy habits like exercising, keeping a regular schedule, and sleeping more than seven hours a day.

Among the factors that determine how isolated a person may feel are whether or not they participate in group activities, whether they live alone or with someone, and whether they receive visits from friends or family.

Interestingly, the study found that visiting grandparents more than once a month doesn’t offer any additional benefit in terms of mortality risk. Visiting grandma once a month can be a good protective measure, but it is not an altruistic act: the protective effect could be bidirectional.

“We are social animals. And that is regardless of our age,” said Prof. Hamish Foster, one of the researchers.