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" With the many different applications available on Facebook and the ability to connect to long-lost friends and family, this online social networking tool can bring big benefits to your health. &amp;quot;We do know that staying socially connected is associated with living longer and living better, so there are benefits to your health and well-being from just staying in touch with friends and family,&amp;quot; explains Gary W. Small, MD, professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at UCLA  and author of iBrain: Surviving the Technological Alteration of the Modern Mind. &amp;quot;And certainly Facebook can allow you to do that, particularly if you might be isolated for some reason from these people and not able to have face-to-face contact,&amp;quot; he adds.   Contrary to what you may think, this online tool is not just for kids. In the last six months of 2008, there was a 276% increase in users from ages 35 to 54. &amp;quot;Facebook is the first social network to have anything remotely close to universal appeal,&amp;quot; says Caroline McCarthy, a staff writer for technology news-and-reviews site CNET.com who writes a blog on social networking called The Social. Here we provide some expert tips on how Facebook (on your PC or mobile device) can be beneficial to your mind and body.   1. Nurture Your Brain &amp;quot;Searching online causes greater neural activation in the brain than reading a book,&amp;quot; says Dr. Small. He explains that following the news of your friends and the world on Facebook exercises and protects your brain cells. McCarthy also notes that Facebook has plenty of brain-teasing applications to explore health, fitness or even your movie knowledge.    2. Get Physical &amp;quot;Use Facebook to connect with people to make tennis dates or find a walking partner,&amp;quot; advises Dr. Small. You can search among the millions of groups by location for your athletic interest. You can also &amp;quot;use it as an outlet to meet up with friends in real life,&amp;quot; says McCarthy. &amp;quot;Don&amp;#039;t just sit around getting absorbed in Facebook.&amp;quot; Whether it&amp;#039;s hiking or horseback riding, you&amp;#039;ll find a group for almost anything on Facebook. Or, check out the Health &amp;amp;amp; Fitness Mobile application, which allows you to create fitness groups, send workout plans on your phone and share your progress with your friends.      9. Spread Some Cheer If you&amp;#039;re enthusiastic or happy about something, let your Facebook friends know. A study of 1,700 college students by Nicholas A. Christakis, MD, MPH, PhD, a physician and sociologist at Harvard University, and James H. Fowler, PhD, a political scientist at the University of California, San Diego, found that those who smiled in their Facebook photos had more &amp;quot;friends&amp;quot; on the service than those who didn&amp;#039;t. Just like your demeanor can be contagious in your social networks offline, the same goes for your online Facebook activity, according to the study.    10. Research and Reach Out Government health agencies such as the National Institutes of Health have a presence on Facebook. Search for NIH to access the agency&amp;#039;s monthly newsletter or discussion board. You can also join a group for health-related resources such as WebMD. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/health-fitness/wellness/a3502/how-facebook-can-boost-your-well-being-64734/?link=emb&dom=yah_life&src=syn&con=blog_wd&mag=wdy>