Now booze with friends to boost well-being, finds study

Now boozing with friends can help you to boost your health, suggested Oxford scientists who found that moderate alcohol consumption may improve wellbeing due to the increased social interaction.

Researchers were studying the scope of improving social cohension by drinking with friends. Researchers at the University of Oxford in the UK looked at whether the frequency of alcohol consumption or the type of venue affect peoples' social experiences and wellbeing by combining data from three separate studies – observing conversational behaviour in pubs, a questionnaire-based study of pub clientele and a national survey by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA).

The researcher found sharing a drink with friends in a pub is socially engaged and contented, it tends to build trust among community members too.

They also observed that those without a local pub had significantly smaller social networks and felt less engaged with, and trusting of, their local communities.

The study showed that visiting a local pub can affect peoples' social network size ," said Robin Dunbar, Professor at University of Oxford.

"Personal wellbeing and happiness have a massive impact not only on individual lives, but on communities as a whole," said Colin Valentine, CAMRA's National Chairman.

"Pubs play a unique role in offering a social environment to enjoy a drink with friends in a responsible, supervised community setting," he said.

"For this reason, we all need to do what we can to ensure that everyone has a 'local' near to where they live or work - the first step to which is to strengthen planning protection for pubs to stem the 21 pubs closing across this country each week," Valentine said.