WellBeings: Dominic Bowden chats to Dr Jonathan Leary. Could socialising be your missing prescription.

Interviewing a range of global experts, on topics from sleep to socialising - we will be exploring the things that help us feel the best that we can feel. For these next few conversations, we are celebrating being “cool, calm and connected”. 

You may have heard that humans are a social species. How good does it feel to laugh with someone, share an inside joke, and of course know you have someone to turn to when you need to talk about something?

It is so much more than that though, the science shows just how much social connection can benefit our emotional and physical wellbeing to help us all thrive and that is exactly what we are going to be focusing on for these next few episodes of WellBeings.

First up is Dr Jonathan Leary, who is the founder of the world’s first social wellness club now open on both coasts of America, in LA and New York. For anyone not familiar with Remedy Place, Jonathan’s promise to his clientele is you will always leave feeling better than when you walked in. The club explores different modalities like cryotherapy, ice baths, saunas and breathwork but more than anything it’s about building a place where you can try something new but also sit, socialize and connect.

In this conversation we talk about everything from how movement can cure pain, the power of community in this new world and Jonathan poses the question, is your doctor the healthiest person you know?

Beyond this amazing conversation, here are just a few ways social connection is good for your health.

Several studies that followed patients with various diseases support the idea that social support can promote healing and immune function.

When we socialize, we rely on parts of our brains that are also important for memory and solving problems and puzzles. Social interaction works out our mind just as much as activities we commonly think of as “intellectually stimulating,” like a crossword or word games.

Socializing can help decrease depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders as well as stabilize your moods. Several studies show links between loneliness and depression, finding that those with more social connections had less risk of becoming depressed.

Socializing can positively influence your health so much so, that it can even help you live longer. A study on Japanese elders, found an incredible connection between mortality and a lack of social participation in their community.

This has been an incredibly challenging time for us all, we have been looking out for each other and building community over the last 2 years and we at WellBeings want to celebrate all the benefits of how connection can be the most important thing we can all turn to for our wellbeing in the future.

If you found this useful, want to learn more about the science of feeling good and to keep up with all the WellBeings interviews, follow their journey here https://wellbeings.nz/