Chapter 11:
I agree with the authors that being religious tends to increase one’s lifespan. Being religious often encourages individuals to not drink alcohol excessively, smoke, take drugs, or engage in risky sexual behaviors. It also promotes social interactions, optimism, and helping others. I thought that it was especially interesting that religious women live longer than religious men- however, I can see how that is true. As I mentioned above, women are more likely to engage in these actions more.
I was confused to read that religious women tended to also be worriers because it seemed to be a contradiction. Worrying is a stressful action, and doing it often suggests that the individual is stressed out. Being stressed out is correlated with living shorter lives. However, regardless of this, the religious women lived longer lives anyway. I am personally curious as to why religious women are worrying so much.
Chapter 12:
In high school, my teacher once told our class that it was important to have both quantity and quality in friendships. He shared that it was important to have many friends so that one can scavenge through all of them, picking the best ones to invest in.
I think that after college, there are not as many opportunities where there are large groups of people trying to be friends with one another. Therefore, it is important to try harder to maintain and create new social relations as we age. Relating this back to church, I think that going to church is one opportunity people have to establish new social connections.
I was personally surprised to read that helping others is more beneficial to one’s health than receiving help. I thought that from an, evolutionary perspective, it would be the other way around.