Spending nine minutes together a day can stop friendships wasting away

Spending just nine minutes together per day can stop friendships wasting away, says Oxford professor

• Nine minutes of interaction per day with close friends can sustain the friendship

Alongside the hustle and bustle of everyday life, it can be hard to maintain those really close friendships.

But just nine minutes a day could be the key to preventing people drifting from their best friends, according to an expert.

Professor Robin Dunbar, an evolutionary psychologist from the University of Oxford, said it’s easy for ‘great friends’ to become ‘good friends’ in just 100 days.

His new calculations suggest that for every nine minutes missed, the quality of a close friendship can diminish by one per cent.

But investing nine minutes of interaction per day – or just over an hour a week if combined – in your close friends can sustain the friendship.

Professor Robin Dunbar (pictured), an evolutionary psychologist from the University of Oxford, said it’s easy for ‘great friends’ to become ‘good friends’ in just 100 days

‘In modern life, which increasingly pulls us and our relationships in different directions, it’s more important than ever to nourish close friendships,’ Professor Dunbar said.

‘Many of us are time-poor, but maintaining friendships doesn’t have to be a time-intensive exercise.

‘By spending just nine minutes consciously prioritising everyday moments together, we’ll stay close and connected with friends – and benefit from greatly enhanced wellbeing and happiness’.

The interaction does not need to be in-person, Professor Dunbar said, but can also include digital communication.

Alongside the hustle and bustle of everyday life, it can be hard to maintain those really close friendships (File image)

It comes as new research reveals nearly a third of people have fewer friends now than they did four years ago, as a result of becoming increasingly time-poor.

A study of 8,000 people, commissioned by Philadelphia, found that most people have between one and three close friends who they contact at least once or twice a week.

And 76 per cent of people believe sharing food and drink is the best way to bond with each other.

Raphael Capitani, senior brand manager at Philadelphia said: ‘Nourishing friendships is important and connecting over food and drink is proven to be one of the most popular ways to do this.

‘We know everyone is trying to juggle a busy life and our research shows that it’s the little moments of connection that can make all the difference to maintaining and improving relationships.’

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