They cheer you up when you're blue; they're always at the end of a phone and, according to the experts, friends notch up significant health benefits too.

Imagine, if you will, friendship as being a sort of 'ship' containing friends. What sort of vessel would that be in your life, right now? A little dinghy with only room for one or two close pals? A luxury yacht, sailing deep waters with lots of interesting and supportive people? Or perhaps she'd be a priceless but ageing craft, paint starting to peel, just crying out for some renewed attention and a little refurbishment!

Most of us, when asked to think of all the benefits of having friends, will come up with things like companionship, good laughs, support, conversation, sharing meals together and so on. But there's one big perk that is often overlooked and worth considering: friends will increase your chances of living a longer and healthier life.

It starts with the heart. It's probably no accident that it is often referred to as more than a muscle pumping blood and as a source of love, friendship and soul. Research shows that social isolation or a lack of friends puts you at higher risk of cardiovascular disease, and will cut your life expectancy.

Friendship is a protective barrier against minor illnesses too, including the common cold.

So it seems that feeling warmly connected to others, being able to hug someone and having the opportunity to get things off your chest seems to help people feel instinctively that there are enough threads in their network to support them. This will lower stress levels and help to take the strain off the immune system and heart, resulting in big health pay-offs.

A growing body of research into human happiness also points to the vital role that friends play in boosting our happiness quotient.

Four Top Friendship Tactics:

• Make friendship a priority. With our hectic lives it's all too easy for 'friend time' to be squeezed out and pushed down your priority list. Don't let it happen. Schedule time for friends in your diary just as you would a dental appointment or a date. Make the time sacred and don't cancel unless there is a true emergency. If your friends are many and the time slots in your diary few, think about bringing some friends together!

• Brush up on your listening skills. There's no greater gift you can give a friend than your undivided attention, lots of eye contact, and the time and space for them to talk about what's on their mind, knowing you are going to support and not judge them.

• Friendships, like any relationship, can become stale if you're not paying attention. Inject fresh life into them by doing something different and surprising. Change the place and frequency of meeting. Arrive with a bunch of flowers if you don't normally, and do things on the spur of the moment!

• Shy at parties? Worried about how you're coming across? It may be time to place your ego to the side and exercise your 'curiosity muscle', simply by taking a genuine interest in others. All the research shows that it is the art of being genuinely curious and attentive that makes someone come off as a brilliant conversationalist, rather than having lots of clever things to say!

For more information, please visit AXA PPP healthcare.

Picture caption: Mark Owen, editor of Punchline magazine and MD of Moose Marketing & PR says: "Cheers to my friends for all the laughs over the years."