Loneliness affects not only feelings, but health.
In the United States, a 2012 study found that “between 20 and 43 percent of American adults over age 60 experienced “frequent or intense” loneliness.” That’s about 9 million people. Brigham Young University psychology and neuroscience professor, Julianne Holt-Lunstad explains that loneliness is typically defined as: “the perceived discrepancy between one’s desired level of social connection and their actual level of social connection.” This addresses the fact that some people who are not socially involved with other people do not feel lonely, while others who are surrounded by many people suffer increased feelings of alienation.
How Does Loneliness Affect Us?
Lonely people are less healthy than non-lonely counterparts. These feelings can make long-term conditions worse and increase the likelihood of a premature death.
People who struggle with long term loneliness are more likely to die of a broken heart, and not in a figurative way. The bodies of lonely people tend to have higher cardiovascular disease rates due to the cortisol, a stress-hormone present in lonely bodies. This increased cortisol can cause chronic high blood pressure, often resulting in hypertension, which leads to heart disease.
One 2005 study examined of 83 healthy first-semester college freshmen and found that the students who reported feeling lonely did not respond well to the flu vaccine and produced less antibodies than non-lonely people. The students who had high levels and loneliness and had a very small social group were the ones who had the lowest antibody response.
Lonely people also suffer from more inflammation than their non-lonely counterparts. This is due to a higher level of the hormone norepinephrine. This hormone is released to increase the white blood cell count in the body, but it also shuts down the viral response of the body. Inflammation can lead to a number of diseases like Alzheimers, rheumatoid arthritis, and clogged arteries.
The other major factor affected by loneliness is difficulty sleeping. Lack of sleep is known to be a major cause of many diseases including type 2 diabetes, weakens immunity and it is known to exacerbate the problems of old age.
What To Do About It
Holt-Lunstad is looking at how to reduce loneliness and the adverse effects, across populations. Her suggestions are varied and include making hearing aids more affordable, in order to reduce the isolation that people who lose their hearing experience. And she suggests that doctors talk to patients about loneliness and how to reduce it. She feels loneliness should be one of the things doctors screen for, just like exercise, diet and sleep. Examining loneliness on an individual basis is important—making sure that our friends and family find ways to engage with other people so as to reduce isolation. But looking at loneliness across our population is also important, so we, as a country, can put in place some methods of reducing loneliness in our communities.
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