It’s easy to forget that true wellbeing doesn’t just play out on your yoga mat or on your plate, but also in your relationships. In the same way that physical and mental fitness builds a healthy body, social fitness builds a healthy spirit—and is just as important to work on, nurture, and maintain. At least, that’s what Harvard-trained sociologist Kasley Killam says. She’s even devised a simple method for cultivating better social health she calls the 5-3-1 rule.
What is the 5-3-1 rule?
Humans are social creatures by nature, thriving on their connections to others. In Killam’s book on social health, The Art and Science of Connection: Why Social Health Is the Missing Key to Living (2024), she says our human network is a living organ: It breathes, stretches, and weakens if we stop nourishing it. And, like everything that keeps us upright, it deserves daily attention.