Spending time with loved ones wards off depression

It’s easy nowadays to pick up the phone to connect with friends and family, but spending time being physically present with a loved one is more beneficial, found a study published Monday in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Using data from 11,000 adults aged 50 and older between 2004 and 2010— a University of Michigan longitudinal study called the Health and Retirement survey— researchers sent surveys every two years to follow participant progress on a variety of health and social factors, TIME.com reported.

Researchers found that only 6.5 percent of those who met with friends or family at least three times a week reported depressive symptoms; the rate was twice as high for those who interacted with loved ones every few months or less.

According to study authors, the connection isn’t just a correlation.

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