Subscribe to Forever 39 on the NJ 101.5 app to get alerts of new episodes.

Here's a fact of life that truly sucks — you'll never have as many friends in your 30s, 40s, and 50s as you did when you were 25 years old. In this episode of Forever 39, we discuss why it's so difficult to not only keep friends as we age, but make new ones as well.

According to a CNN article, 25 is the magic number when it comes to friendships. It's the age that people have the most number of friends and social contacts.

The article takes a look at research by scientists from the University of Oxford in England and Aalto University in Finland in which data from three million cell phone users was studied. On average, they found that men contacted 19 people per month, while women contacted 17.5. Now keep in mind those numbers represent the average 25-year-old. So what happens when they studied the data of older people? Well, the number of contacts per month dropped. In fact, when they took a look at the data for people aged 39, men were contacting seven less people per month, and women were contacting 2.5 less people.

If you've noticed your friendships have fallen by the wayside as you've gotten married and raised your kids, you're certainly not alone. Many of us are dealing with this same issue. In fact, The New York Times called the topic "timeless." In 2012, an article by Alex Williams called "Friends of a Certain Age" ran, but the article reran again this year. The editor's note said the paper is "running it again because the topic is timeless."

So whether it's because you're less trusting, more set in your ways, or simply don't have the time you used to, putting yourself out in the friendship social scene can be more daunting at 40 then it was when you were 13! If you're ready to put yourself out there, here are some tips from Redbook that we thought were some of the most sensible.

We found the thing that works the best for us is to find something you enjoy and then hope some friendships will form from that common link. If staying healthy is important to you, hit the gym or join an exercise class. At least you know you already have one thing in common with the people doing the same activity as you.

Also from this week's Forever 39 podcast — Our favorite Christmas movies revealed. PLUS: A schedule for washing common household items. Click on the podcast player above to hear the entire episode.

Share your thoughts on all of them below, on Twitter, on Facebook or at forever39@nj1015.com.

— Annette and Megan, Forever 39

Join us for next week’s podcast when we chat about vow renewals, digital self harm, and our guilty pleasures.

More From New Jersey 101.5 FM