Make sure that out of your 523 'friends' on Facebook, you have at least two or three close friends that you can confide in and hang out with regularly.

According to the research, being a loner is just as dangerous as being and alcoholic, and twice as harmful as obesity!

A study published in the journal, PLoS Medicine looked at the association between social relationships and mortality. It found that having close friends and family support actually improves your odds of survival by 50 percent.

Who would have thought that "girls nights out" are actually healthy? But don't confuse social media with real-live, face-to-face interaction. To fully enjoy the health benefits of socialisation, you actually have to tear yourself away from the computer screen, turn off the cellphone and enjoy a good gossip session with your BFF.

This is something I recommend to couples in my practice too. They often complain that they have 'no time' for each other because their lives are so busy. But when I get them to write out a timetable of their day, they discover a few extra hours in every week which are usually taken up by technology.

There is no substitute for human interaction! If you're feeling a little low, pick up the phone and invite a friend over for coffee – you will be surprised at how energised you feel afterwards.