Stressed Out? Spend Time With Girlfriends to Calm Down

Before marriage and kids, going out with my girlfriends was a regular part of my social calendar. We also used to talk on the phone all the time. But as life got busier and more stressful, our outings and chats have become much less frequent. It turns out that life would be less stressful for us if we made more time for each other, according to a landmark study.

Researchers at the University of California found that friendships among women produce a calming effect from the "feel good" hormone oxytocin.

While estrogen seems to enhance the effect for women, men on the other hand, produce testosterone when they are under stress, which reduces the oxytocin effect.

One of the authors of the study reported that oxytocin seems to buffer the "fight or flight" response while encouraging women to tend children and gather with other women.

No wonder a girls night out always makes everything better!