You know that close friendships feel good - but did you know just how much of a health boost they can be?

According to a 10-year study of older people in Adelaide, Australia, satisfying friendships predict longevity better than even close family ties, and they can protect against obesity, depression, and heart disease, among other health problems.

When women get stressed, our instinct is often to find a friend and talk things through, says Joan Borysenko, author of Inner Peace for Busy Women. Both touch and talk release the hormone oxytocin, which has a profoundly calming effect on your mind and body.

You dont need 600 Facebook friends or a jam-packed social calendar to reap these impressive perks (in fact, both can backfire). Research shows the following types of relationships are especially potent for your health. Heres how to cherish these friendships and make sure you stay close for the long haul.

Quiz: Are Your Friendships Healthy?

1. A Childhood Friend She can still remember the boy-crazy, artistic girl you were at 16.

Longtime intimates are special for many reasons. They knew you and your family while you were growing up and likely have many memories and stories of you that no one else does. "These friends remind you that you are still the person you've always been," says Rebecca G. Adams, a leading friendship researcher and sociology professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Nurture these ties by starting a members-only Web sitegroups on Yahoo, Google, or Facebook are free and make it easy. Use them to plan vacations or share links to digital photo albums. Or keep things low techjust stick a card in the mail now and then, and stay in touch with phone calls. Research from the University of Notre Dame shows that people who chat at least every 15 days have the best chance of staying close over time.

2. A New Friend Unlike members of your grade school crew, newly acquired pals have no preconceived notions about you.

"As we get older, we can fall into ruts," says Pamela McLean, a psychologist in Santa Barbara, Calif. "New friends ignite different kinds of thinking and fresh ways of being." What's more, they'll connect you to another network of people, says Rosemary Blieszner, a professor at Virginia Tech who has researched friendships among older women. That network can be helpful if youre looking to make a career change or find a new pool of potential dates.

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Friends Every Woman Needs