SUNDAY, Oct. 19, 2025 (HealthDay News) — For older adults, friendship might be the best medicine. Researchers say that doing small favors for close friends — like offering a ride or lending a hand — can boost happiness and give people a greater sense of purpose.

A University of Michigan study found that older adults who provide practical help to close friends tend to experience more positive emotions in daily life.

As it turns out, though, the emotional effects differ for men and women.

While older women maintained a pretty steady positive mood when offering emotional support, researchers found that older men were more likely to feel worse on days they comforted friends.

"Offering emotional support to friends may be linked to a lower positive mood for older men, possibly due to express

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