I always wanted to be a twin - aka instant and lifelong BEST friend. Now new research shows that there is an additional perk to having a twin - and it is not to play tricks and share clothes. A study carried out by the University of Washington found that fraternal and identical twins have much lower mortality rate than the rest of us. And the reason is really sweet - researchers believe that the close bond between twins accounts for the added health benefits. David Sharrow who lead the study explains:

"We find that at nearly every age, identical twins survive at higher proportions than fraternal twins, and fraternal twins are a little higher than the general population. Our results lend support to a big body of literature that shows that social relationships are beneficial to health outcomes."

The study examined almost three thousand sets of same-sex twins listed in the Danish Twin Registry and then reviewed their lifespan against the rest of the Danish population.

The findings also suggested that identical boys lived the longest out of all the groups.

David believes that having a strong support system that comes with a twin is the reason they live longer than the rest of us:

"There is benefit to having someone who is socially close to you who is looking out for you. They may provide material or emotional support that lead to better longevity outcomes."

Are you a twin or do you have twins? We would love to hear from you about your feelings on the issue. Amanda. Cassidy@HerFamily.ie or leave us a comment.