One day, siblings are awesome — and the next, they’re a real nightmare. They can be so unpredictable, yet we love them all the same. We call each other names, but if someone does that to our sibling, we’re up in arms. As surprising as it sounds, siblings can actually improve your health. So you may want to think twice before you tell your sibling to leave you alone.
Bright Side encourages you to grab your sibling and take a moment to appreciate each other.
They boost your immune system.
Healthy sibling relationships increase your ability to fight off viruses, even without symptoms. Stress hormones, catecholamines, and glucocorticoids, in particular, have a negative impact on your immune system when you’re sick. The higher your stress levels are, the worse you feel. Luckily, if you have strong social bonds with your siblings or friends, you can control your stress levels, which can help you get over an illness much faster.
Hugging your loved ones can prevent heart disease.
You can keep your blood pressure under control by hugging regularly. If you are worried sick about something, instead of taking some medicine, hug your sibling. Such practices lower blood pressure and heart rate. Even 20 seconds of hugging your loved one can help you avoid heart attacks or pain.
They help you cope with depression.
We often turn to our parents for help when we run into a brick wall in our lives. However, your sibling offers you something that your parents can’t. You open up more to your siblings, find possible solutions together, and the overall feeling of being cared for cheers you up. Your cortisol levels reduce when you have someone to talk to. Additionally, they protect you from stress when you’re a kid.
They prolong your life.
People with poor social connections are 50% more likely to die earlier than people who have tight bonds. This could be because your nearest and dearest encourage you to care about yourself. This becomes especially noticeable when you fall ill. Your siblings make a casserole for you, rub ointment on your back, and demand that you don’t die because they need you.
How many siblings do you have? Did the article make you view them differently?
A 13-year-old builds his own mini-house in his backyard, look inside and be impressed
Most middle schoolers probably have other things on their minds besides building houses.
But Luke Thill, a 13-year-old from Dubuque, Iowa, is unlike any other middle schooler you’ve seen before.
This talented and proactive boy has crafted his very own little house — in his parent’s backyard.
The project cost him roughly $1,500 USD — and now Luke is living his dream in his little cottage.
Come on in and have a look at what it looks like inside.
I think it’s safe to say that Luke is not like many of his 13-year-old peers. In a time of iPads, smartphones, gadgets, and X-Boxes, this young man decided to keep himself busy in a different and more ‘old-fashioned’ way. As he explains on his YouTube channel, his desire to build a small house grew out of feeling bored last summer.
After some thorough research, Luke had a pretty good idea of how he was going to put his plan into action.
The Process
It took him about a year to get the money and materials he needed to build the house. Luke mowed lawns, started a fund-raiser online, and ran errands for anyone who needed help in the neighborhood to make money.
An electrician Luke was friends with helped him install the electricity in exchange for Luke cleaning his garage out, for instance.
Luke used about 75 percent recycled material, many of which were things left over from his grandma’s house. The front door of the house was a gift from an uncle’s friend.
The 89-square-foot house is 10 feet long and 5 1/2 feet wide, with electricity but no plumbing, so no water or bathroom… yet.
“I liked the minimalism,” he told The Des Moines Register. “And I wanted to have a house without a huge mortgage.”
Luke has made several video clips and posted them online, where he talks about his project as many have grown curious about the little house.
As you can imagine, Luke also received some help from his parents, both financially and with the building itself.
But dad Greg made sure that it would be Luke himself who would pay for most of his project and also build most of it himself.
“It was a chance for a kid to do something more than play video games or sports,” Greg told The Des Moines Register. “It teaches life lessons.”
Teenager’s Dream
The house is in many ways a teenager’s dream, an oasis where you can chill and hang out in. It has a microwave, a TV, and a loft with a bed.
There’s even a barbecue and flowers at the back.
Luke usually does his homework after school at his new house and some nights during the week he gets to sleep there.
Luke already has aspirations to build another house — one that’s a little bigger for when he starts college. He also hopes to inspire others to follow their dreams:
“I want to show kids it’s possible to build at this age,” he says in one of his videos.
You can really see how proud he is about his project below.
Luke’s story is a great example of what a child can achieve with a clear goal, a strong worth ethic, and support from home.
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