Axios: Close your social rings

Posted on September 2, 2026 by michelleclarke2015
Close your social rings
 
Animated illustration of an Apple Watch circles graphic. The red green and blue circles move toward completion, but before they hit the end, the red and green circles grow hands, which high five.
Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
 
We track so many elements of our well-being: steps, workouts, sleep. Maybe our friendships deserve a little attention too, Axios’ Natalie Daher writes.

🫶 Why it matters: We know social ties are good for our health. But unlike exercise or hydration, maintaining our relationships rarely makes it onto the daily wellness checklist.

The New York Times’ Jancee Dunn recently posed the idea of “social rings” akin to an Apple Watch’s movement-based rings, which users are challenged to “close” every day.

Have you connected with a friend lately? If not, maybe your social rings are still open, she says.

👯 Jaimie Arona Krems, director of UCLA’s Center for Friendship Research, told Dunn she’s surprised friendship isn’t treated as more of a basic health recommendation, alongside eating well, drinking water and getting enough sleep.

Flashback: We brought you a similar idea earlier this year with the rise of “social prescribing.”

The science: Research has linked friendships with better heart health, greater resilience to stress and a stronger immune system, Dunn notes.

⏰ Even if we understand the benefits, the challenge is often finding time. Dunn offers some suggestions that don’t require adding another dinner or weekend plan to an already packed calendar:

📞 Find your window. Learn when a friend tends to have a free pocket — during a commute, dog walk or dinner prep — and use it for a quick call. We’d all love more intimate, in-person time with our dearest people. But when that’s hard to come by, a quick connection still counts.

🧺 Combine friendship with chores. Go to the grocery store together, or put a friend on speaker while you fold laundry or tackle your Sunday cleaning.

💌 Bring back the chatty email. Maybe you’d appreciate the modern-day pen pal. Drop a line!

✍️Remember the follow-up. If a friend tells you about a doctor’s appointment, big interview or family problem, check back in afterward.

The bottom line: Friendship can feel like something that should happen naturally. But as life gets busier, a little intentionality becomes essential.Read the NYT story(gift link).
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About michelleclarke2015

Life event that changes all: Horse riding accident in Zimbabwe in 1993, a fractured skull et al including bipolar anxiety, chronic fatigue …. co-morbidities (Nietzche 'He who has the reason why can deal with any how' details my health history from 1993 to date). 17th 2017 August operation for breast cancer (no indications just an appointment came from BreastCheck through the Post). Trinity College Dublin Business Economics and Social Studies (but no degree) 1997-2003; UCD 1997/1998 night classes) essays, projects, writings. Trinity Horizon Programme 1997/98 (Centre for Women Studies Trinity College Dublin/St. Patrick's Foundation (Professor McKeon) EU Horizon funded: research study of 15 women (I was one of this group and it became the cornerstone of my journey to now 2017) over 9 mth period diagnosed with depression and their reintegration into society, with special emphasis on work, arts, further education; Notes from time at Trinity Horizon Project 1997/98; Articles written for Irishhealth.com 2003/2004; St Patricks Foundation monthly lecture notes for a specific period in time; Selection of Poetry including poems written by people I know; Quotations 1998-2017; other writings mainly with theme of social justice under the heading Citizen Journalism Ireland. Letters written to friends about life in Zimbabwe; Family history including Michael Comyn KC, my grandfather, my grandmother's family, the O'Donnellan ffrench Blake-Forsters; Moral wrong: An acrimonious divorce but the real injustice was the Catholic Church granting an annulment – you can read it and make your own judgment, I have mine. Topics I have written about include annual Brain Awareness week, Mashonaland Irish Associataion in Zimbabwe, Suicide (a life sentence to those left behind); Nostalgia: Tara Hill, Co. Meath.
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