Siblings Rock! 8 Reasons Your Bro And Sis Make You Healthier
Your sibs influenced more than just your taste in music and movies! (Photo: ImageBrief)
Your parents brought you into this world, but that doesn’t mean they’re the only ones who have a big impact on your life. Whether or not you got along with your siblings when you were younger, there’s no questioning their impact on your personal growth and health — long after you’ve stopped sharing bunk beds.
Outside of the parental relationship, your relationship with your siblings is one of the longest you’ll have in your lifetime, says Elizabeth Ochoa, PhD, chief psychologist for the Department of Psychiatry at Mount Sinai Beth Israel.
Studies show that during adolescence, you can spend 10 to 17 hours a week with your brothers and sisters. It’s no wonder your characteristics, personality traits, and habits rub off on each other.
“There are many more positives to having a sibling versus negatives,” says Khadijah B. Watkins, MD, assistant professor of psychiatry in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College. They help shape, influence, mentor, and counsel each other, well into adulthood.
While sibling studies have been neglected in the family and child psychotherapy literature, Ochoa tells Yahoo Health, there is a growing awareness about the importance of having a brother or sister. Here are eight research- and expert-backed reasons your siblings are good for your health:
1. Siblings can help promote generosity.
It’s fairly common in families with multiple children for the older siblings to take on a mini-parent role, and younger siblings model after this loving, caring behavior.
These characteristics from siblings can promote good deeds in the community, according to a study from Brigham Young University. Researchers found that siblings who felt loved and safe were more likely to reach out to help a neighbor or watch out for fellow classmates at school.
The spirit of good deeds that you learn from the sibling dynamic – cooperating and sharing with one another – may create a greater sense of generosity to the world at large, says Ochoa.
2. Siblings can help inspire passions.
Whether you’re the firstborn, middle child, or last-born of the family, personality traits according to your birth order play a role in discovering your passions.
Older siblings tend to be more motivated, driven, and successful, and as a result, middle children often are more creative to make a name for themselves. The youngest siblings are motivated and driven like firstborns, but they won’t compete with their siblings – they’re more likely to take a different course or move to a new geographic location.
Parents’ categorization of their children plays a role as well, says Ochoa. If parents consider the firstborn to be the “smart one” in the family, the middle and youngest children might strive to be something more unique, like the “athlete in the family” or the “creative one.”
3. Sibling quarrels can teach conflict resolution.
Bickering with your brother or sister might have been the bane of your existence growing up, but it turns out scuabbling could actually play a role in the development of your own conflict resolution abilities.
Sibling conflict teaches how to negotiate competition, share, listen properly, and communicate effectively, Ochoa says.
4. Sibling relationships build loyalty and long-term friendship.
It’s an unspoken promise between siblings: You’ve got each other’s backs.
“There could be a biological push to relate to your siblings, since they share 50 percent of the parents genes,” says Ochao.
Even if siblings aren’t close growing up, many brothers and sisters develop stronger relationships with one another as they grow older. “Toward the 80- to 85-year-old [age range], some suggestions have been made that siblings allow you to enter old age with greater life satisfaction and less loneliness,” Ochoa tells Yahoo Health.
5. Siblings can have a positive impact on your weight.
“Jack and Jill went up the hill” may be part of a nursery rhyme, but this brother/sister duo knows the importance of physical fitness.
Research shows that if one sibling becomes obese, it increases the other sibling’s likelihood of obesity by 40 percent — also known as the “obese sibling.” But, that likelihood decreases the more active siblings become together.
Related: How Family Meals May Fight Obesity
6. Siblings help boost your immune system.
If you have a pretty strong immune system, you might have your siblings to thank.
“We’ve always known that having another sibling in the family decreases infections,” says Watkins. Studies show that exposure to germs, infections, and allergies may help boost the immune system of fellow siblings.
7. Siblings can help facilitate greater life satisfaction.
During adolescence, siblings have more of a sense of self-competency and greater life satisfaction, especially as they shift into adulthood.
“The importance of siblings and wellness and life satisfaction seem to become apparent at the point of developmental shifts,” says Ochoa.
Life hurdles — a parent’s illness or death, for example — also force siblings to unite and work to solve the problem cooperatively. “It allows them to come closer and support each other to come up with balanced solutions during these life shifts,” says Ochoa.
Related: C’mon, Get Happy! 30 Easy Ways To Boost Your Mood
8. Your siblings might make you do better in school.
Little did you know that you had a built-in tutor who sleeps in the room across the hallway.
A recent study found that an older sibling’s high test scores seemed to boost a younger sibling’s chance of landing a good grade.
Study researchers are calling it the “sibling spillover” effect, as siblings were found to mimic the academic goals and achievements of their brothers and sisters.
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