Not only is this pandemic profoundly affecting our physical and mental health, but it's having a significant impact on our relational health too.

In her 2017 TED Talk, Dr. Susan Pinker talks about a research study conducted by Brigham Young University that shows the leading factor of longevity is how much you interact with people as you move throughout your day. Or, social integration for short. The study surveyed tens of thousands of participants in a plethora of areas - marital status, habits, diet, exercise, etc. - and found that the number one factor in living a life of super longevity (living longer) involves more than diet and exercise. It involves people. More interaction with people, longer life.

And not only online “friends.” Face-to-face, real-life interactions with the cashier at the grocery store or your hairdresser. (Did anyone else just start coughing thinking about being around lots of people these days?)

People are powerful. Relationships are, quite literally, life giving.

At the same time, when something is deadly and highly contagious, we tend to stay away from people to stay physically healthy. Which is a smart choice when we’re going on year three of a global pandemic. We wonder how many years this virus is taking off our lives not only by getting physically ill, but also by robbing us of the life-giving need for social integration.

At Apartment Life, our "secret sauce" has always been helping people maximize their relational health. People are what make a community feel good. Friends are, quite literally, what create a long life. And we strive to create a culture of connectedness across all our programs even in the middle of this pandemic. By safely welcoming neighbors, "walking" alongside them, and connecting them with other residents, our coordinators are conduits of life-giving relationships across the world. Witten Advisors reports that 53 percent of apartment residents have no quality relationships within their community, and beyond that, there is a near 50 percent likelihood of renewals for those who do report having relationship with others in their community.

For our bottom line, building a warm community with socially integrated residents is good for the soul and for business. And now we know that loving our neighbors is proven to "bring life"... as we like to say around here!

For more information on why we do what we do, how we've continued building community during the pandemic, and additional studies and resources we believe make a case for our program... you can visit our resource page. 

If you would like to watch the full TED Talk, you can do so below.