This is Hidden Brain, I'm Shankar Vedantam.

Ask yourself what makes you happy.

Many people would say spending time with close friends, quality moments with family, playing

with a pet.

Most of us can agree, relationships are at the heart of a life well-lived.

Social science research bears this out.

Nonchalist studies suggest that our emotional ties to others shape our well-being.

Long-running analyses that track people over time show that social connections are not

just about our emotional well-being, they're important determinants of our physical health.

But it's one thing to say that relationships are important.

It's another to go about getting them or preserving them.

If long friends move away to other towns and countries, romantic relationships come

undone, relatives pass away.

And especially as people get older, many find it difficult to form new relationships,

even as they yearn to feel close to others.

New psychological research suggests a solution to this problem, or at least a partial solution,

and it's one that's easily accessible to everyone.

Last week we kicked off our relationships 2.0 series with a look at how to make conflicts

less stressful and more productive.

This week on Hidden Brain, a user's manual on how to boost your social connections and

your happiness.

Rigorous studies suggest that the problem of loneliness is growing around the world.

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