Spending time with your mum can actually help her live longer

As we grow up and start our own families, it can be easy to let days, weeks or even months go by before we see our own mum. 

However, it seems it's time we upped our game a little, as new research has found that sending time with our parents can help them to live longer. 

Yup. 

A study titled Loneliness in Older Person, looked at 1,600 adults with an average age of 71, and found that just 14 percent of those that experienced companionship died within the six-year period, compared to 23 percent of lonely participants.

In fact, according to the University of California research, loneliness can actually impact on a person's quality of life, and lead to depression and even heart disease.

“The need we’ve had our entire lives — people who know us, value us, who bring us joy — that never goes away,” Barbara Moscowitz, senior geriatric social worker at Massachusetts General Hospital, told the New York Times. 

Any excuse for dinner at Mum's if we're being honest.

Oh, and don't forget about your elderly neighbour down the road who has no one – they could probably do with a visitor as well.