Friends Who Stay In Together Are Better Friends With Stronger Bonds

For some of us, FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) is an unhealthy disorder that makes beautiful experiences like binge-watching Netflix or staying in all night and ordering Domino's seem depressing.

Luckily for me, I do not suffer from FOMO at all. In fact, I tend to prefer spending nights with a gigantic (yet absurdly cheap) bottle of red wine and some of my closest friends at my place over nights racking up bar tabs all over New York City.

As much fun as it is to spend your youth out in the wild night living life to the fullest, I have aged to the ripe and wiser age of 22.

Now that my most chaotic year of life is over, I can honestly say there is nothing more crucial to my overall state than being able to round up my best friends for a night of bad movies accompanied by even worse alcohol.

When we stay in with our friends, we share our darkest secrets and our greatest stories, and we often make the best memories in the process as well.

If you have friends you can call over whenever you feel like ditching the club and throwing on some sweats on a Friday night, rest assured: You have some of the greatest friends you could possibly ask for.

Why staying in beats FOMO 60 percent of the time, every time.

There's an endless list of reasons I'd rather be staying in than going out: For one, I've already been to every single sort of party you could possibly think of.

Toga parties, rooftop parties, penthouse parties -- they all sound like good ideas until you've already experienced one (or nine) of them.

The Huffington Post reports social media may be part of the reason some people are so scared of staying in on the weekends.

Apparently we all may be suffering from FOMO without even realizing it. Our addictions to social media keeps us constantly consumed in other people's lives and in all of the various events and activities they're headed to.

It's no wonder people are so terrified of staying in with their friends. The constant pressure to appear as young socialites on Instagram and Facebook can certainly be daunting. What's worse, this type of FOMO may actually cause depression.

Researchers at Carnegie Melon say social media sites are actually causing depression amongst members of our generation. Experts believe flipping through pictures of people at clubs, living luxe lifestyles and appearing always to be happier than you can really take a toll on your personal health.

Still, that doesn't change my hatred of going out, especially when I don't want to. Being forced to pose for dozens of pictures, spend way more money than you were expecting to or even have and not getting home before sunrise gets extremely irritating when it's the last thing on your mind.

And, more importantly, staying in just so happens to be much better for your health. Mainly because when we stay in with some close friends, good music and positive vibes, it's much easier for us to unwind and destress than it would be if we're smushed in between people twerking to Miley Cyrus. The

The New York Times reports that being able to relax is proven to release tension from the muscles, lower blood pressure and even slow the heart down. What a lovely way to enjoy a Friday night.

It's not that I don't mind going out once in a while. I love being social, meeting new people and having memorable times out.

Still, I don't have any aspirations to be the next Kim Kardashian, so staying out all night to grab selfies with strangers isn't exactly on my list of top priorities.

However, catching up on "Orange Is The New Black" with my best friends, Ben & Jerry (and the rest of the crew, of course), is my number one goal for the weekend.

You don't have to force fun when you stay in with your crew.

When we're invited out on nights we'd rather stay in, caving and spending our night at an overcrowded event that costs 20 bucks just to get inside is truly one of the most incredibly annoying experiences we're forced to face in life.

The daunting tasks involved in scheduling these sort of excursions to the club with all your acquaintances can only be fun the first time you do it. After a while, it only distracts you from being able to create stronger bonds with the people who matter most in your life.

This type of planning becomes redundant and ridiculously stressful.

Having to make sure every single person in your group of friends has a ride to the event, buying a decent outfit just to get through the door (while standing in below-freezing temperatures) and dealing with packed bars just to order a 14 dollar cocktail is only glamorous on Instagram.

What's more, studies show spending more time bonding with your best friends can actually have the opposite effect of planning a stressful night out.

The Huffington Post reports on a study that shows building your relationship with best friends decreases the levels of cortisol pumping through your blood, which is the hormone that causes us to freak out when our friends are 20 minutes late for the Uber.

Honestly, I'd much rather make nachos and call up my local liquor store -- I just found out last week they deliver, which basically means there's no reason for me to ever leave my apartment any weekend from this point forward. All friends are welcome.

Because if we can't bond over Netflix and a bottle of wine, how can I trust you as a person?

Stay In, Stand Up For JOMO: The Joy Of Missing Out.

Instead of fearing the peace and quiet of your own four walls on any given weekend, we should actually embrace it. Arianna Huffington once told Australian News,

You don't want to end up looking around, asking, 'Did I do what I want, or what society wants?' Instead, think about how to live life from that abundant place. Not financially, but inwardly abundant. This is the Zeitgeist.

It's important to remember building these relationships with our friends is still crucial to our health, even though we may not necessarily want to leave the house.

A study performed at UCLA shows women who have friends to help with things like the daily stresses of married life, work life or having children are 60 percent less likely to die from illness or disease.

As I've grown into my new age of 22 (my bones are seriously starting to ache), I've come to analyze my place in society.

I love going out and making irresponsible choices just as much as the next Millennial, but I'm just never going to be the type of person who enjoys going out every single night.

Still, that doesn't mean I'm antisocial. In fact, it's quite the opposite.

I've just come to realize I'd rather spend my time doing things that will actually make me happy.

Sometimes that's catching the train into Manhattan for a night of drinking, and other times it's staying in with my best friends, playing board games, spilling "tea" and making ridiculous jokes nobody would understand but us.

And, more than anything, that's the most beautiful part of staying in with your friends: When you strip your group of friends of the lights, strangers and loud club music, you begin to discover who really shapes your life in the most awesome ways.

Citations: Staying in Is the New Going Out: Forget FOMO (Huffington Post), 7 reasons staying in is better than going out on New Yearu2019s Eve (Metro), Is staying in the new going out? Forget FOMO, embrace JOMO (the Joy of Missing Out) (News.AU), RELAXATION: SURPRISING BENEFITS DETECTED (NY Times), Best Friends Can Help You Beat Stress, Study Finds (The Huffington Post)