Human physiology may be more socially responsive than previously thought. Researchers found that simply being near another person could alter how efficiently the body regulates itself. Credit: Shutterstock

Eating a carbohydrate meal with a companion led to smaller blood sugar spikes and faster recovery than eating alone, suggesting a metabolic benefit to sharing the table.

When managing blood sugar, people often focus on the carbohydrates on their plates. The body’s response to a meal may also depend on who is sitting at the table. In a series of preregistered experiments, participants who ate a standardized carbohydrate meal alongside a companion experienced smaller glucose spikes and recovered more quickly than when they ate the same meal alone.

Published in Science Advances, the research was led by Professor Shir Atzil and doctoral student Monia Masalha of Hebrew University, along with Dr. Shai Fuchs of Sheba Medical Center.

“Blood sugar regulation is not just about what we eat, but who we eat with,” says Atzil. “Our relationships have an active biological role in our physical wellbeing.”

Shir Atzil. Credit: Yaniv Vaknin

Companionship’s benefits do not require touch

The researchers also investigated whether social proximity affected other systems that keep the body functioning. Across experiments, being near another person improved temperature regulation during exposure to cold and reduced stress responses in adults and infants. Benefits appeared even without physical touch, suggesting that contact was not necessary for the effects observed.

The physiological benefits were not explained by reduced stress, suggesting that companionship’s effects on the body cannot be attributed simply to helping people feel less stressed.

Bodies may regulate themselves better together

The team calls the proposed principle “Social Physiology,” meaning that the human body regulates itself more efficiently in the presence of social partners. Evidence across the preregistered experiments, whose plans were recorded in advance, suggests that this influence may extend across several bodily systems rather than being confined to blood sugar regulation.

“We used to think of the body as an isolated system that regulates itself,” said Atzil. “Our findings show that human physiology is inherently social. Being close to someone you love lowers the physical energy your body spends on regulating itself. This gives us a direct metabolic benefit to being together and reveals a core evolutionary reason why humans form bonds in the first place: our bodies run better together.”
With blood sugar regulation a growing global health concern, the findings suggest that social relationships may be relevant to metabolic health alongside food choices. The researchers emphasize that social closeness is not a substitute for medical care, nutrition, or exercise.

Reference: “Social Physiology: Human homeostasis is more efficient in social proximity” by Monia Masalha, Matan Cohen, Maayan Aloni, Einav Toledo, Ella Stahl, Diane Shachar, Or Eliav, Shai Fuchs and Shir Atzil, 23 September 2026, Science Advances.
DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aeg4937

This study was supported by a European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant 101116444 awarded to S.A.

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