Friendship is good for the heart—literally. A study by BYU psychology professor Wendy C. Birmingham (BS ’06) uncovered a connection between heart health and having supportive friends and family. Typically blood pressure decreases overnight; a failure to do so is a predictor of cardiovascular disease. Birmingham found that people whose blood pressure does not lower overnight also tend to lack social support, while people with greater social support have healthier blood-pressure patterns.
