Nadia Ahmed explores the importance of connection and community for dental professionals and the reasons why they are harder and harder to prioritise.
From the first few years of life, we need social interaction. Human beings thrive when we have connections with others, which can come in many different ways: time spent on a daily basis with work colleagues working as a team, personal relationships with friends and family, our hobbies and recreational activities such as a yoga class, running club or sports team. Just as our ancestors needed a tribe, humans today need their community.
There is a huge amount of evidence to support strong social connections and the link to our health. One study has shown that those over 70 years old with strong social connections are 22% less likely to die over a period of 10 years.
Another study has shown that of 3,000 women with breast cancer, those with at least 10 friends were four times more likely to survive the disease than those with no close friends. These examples illustrate the need for support from others.
The Netflix series Live to 100: Secret of the Blue Zones is testament to this by revealing the secret of living to 100 years old at the highest rates in the world as shown by the communities in the blue zones – Loma Linda (USA), Nicoya (Costa Rica), Sardinia (Italy), Ikaria (Greece) and Okinawa (Japan). What is the secret? Community and serving humanity.
Why is connection important?
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