Why You Need a Couple of BFFs

How many best friends do you have? We ask because there's been a brouhaha recently about a new Cornell survey that found your number of BFFs (you know, your through-thick-and-thin friends) has dropped from three to two during the last two decades.

Makes it sound like you've somehow lost a third of your inner circle. But hold on. We're betting you, like us, have a biggish circle of good friends you happily hang with over coffee, during group walks, or volunteering at the library. Terrific! Having friends is as good for you as quitting smoking. An active social life helps protect you -- and them -- from high blood pressure, stress, and inflammation. There's some evidence that it may even raise your odds for surviving breast cancer and bypassing a heart attack.

But of that group, there are probably only a couple of friends with whom you share everything from a bad joke to bad news (think Lucy and Ethel, Oprah and Gayle). Besides being total confidantes, you do even more for each other's health than regular friends. Your shared generosity and support slash each other's odds for memory loss and disabilities, and increase the chances you'll be able to manage everything from meals to meds later in life by a whopping 150%. Researchers can't pinpoint what exactly makes BFFs so powerful, but they know it happens.

As long as you have one or two of 'em, count yourself lucky. It's more about quality than quantity.

Who's the single most important person to make friends with? Yourself. Here's why.