We celebrate National I Care About You Day on October 25 so plan something special for your friends and family!  This is the day where we honor everyone in our life for no other reason but to tell them we are grateful. Although this holiday was most recently launched in 2016, this day is highly popularized through social media tags and post shares. Scroll down to learn more inventive ways on how to celebrate those who make life more beautiful.

HISTORY OF ​NATIONAL I CARE ABOUT YOU DAY

Let’s be honest: We could easily make a case that National I Care About You Day should sit atop a list of the most important days of the year. Why? Though it was only started in 2016, what other holiday more perfectly speaks to the human condition? Money’s nice to have. Vacations are fun. And driving around in a new car makes us feel good — temporarily. None of it matters at the end though. Without love (both romantic and platonic), friendships, and/or family — we’re doomed.

Humans are wired for relationships. We thrive when we’re connected and feel lonely (or worse) when we’re disconnected. No amount of money can make your emotional pain heal. But friends can. Or at least they can help. So many of us crave “novelty,” but by its very definition, it can only last for a limited time. Suddenly you don’t even realize you’re driving that (once) new car. And ancient ruins begin to look the same starting around day 5 of your trip to Greece. Material things can’t possibly do what other people can do. 

The health experts at Northwestern University have pinpointed some of the positive effects of healthy relationships. For instance, being in a committed relationship is linked to less production of cortisol, a stress hormone. Good relationships can promote better healing, as research suggests married people who have undergone heart surgery are three times more likely to survive the first three months after surgery than single patients. 

Healthy relationships set the perfect tone for an overall healthy lifestyle. They give us a greater sense of purpose. It’s natural for humans to want to feel needed, and like they’re part of something bigger. And it can even extend our lives! Research indicates that having healthy social relationships makes a bigger impact on avoiding an early demise than taking blood pressure medication or being exposed to air pollution. One study even suggests that a lack of social relationships has the same effect on health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Ugh.

So reach out on October 25th. It will make your life better and may make someone else’s better too.