“I would rather walk with a friend in the dark, than alone in the light”

So said the redoubtable Helen Keller. And it seems she was spot-on, since a new study highlights that friends are a more important source of support than family to us – especially when the going gets tough.

In the survey of 280,000 people, researchers from Michigan State University found that friendships become increasingly valuable to our health and happiness as we progress through our lives.

Not only that, but they’re more influential to our well-being than family, possible because they are optional – so we get to edit out the friendships that don’t work for us over time, leaving only those that are the most valuable.

Lifelong friends chosen well ‘make us happier than family’