In 2019 an article was published looking at the effects of loneliness and social isolation on physical, mental, and cognitive health. In addition, the article differentiates social isolation from loneliness, which I think is important. We can still be lonely even if we're not socially isolated, and we can be socially isolated for a time without being lonely.
They give a definition of loneliness: loneliness is defined by people’s levels of satisfaction with their connectedness.
and then they gave two types of loneliness:
- reactive loneliness - in reaction a life transition, for instance, moving to a different city, losing a job, getting divorced, or graduating from school.
- chronic loneliness - deficiency in emotional, cognitive, or financial resources that results in a lack of a social circle or time to meet their social needs.
they also pulled from a list of resources to share some of loneliness's negative effects:
- equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes per day
- 2x as harmful as obesity
- experience more pain
- shorter lifespan
- more prone to depression
- increased stress
- poor sleep quality
- impaired executive function
- accelerated cognitive decline
- 30 percent increase in risk of stroke or the development of coronary heart disease
- 40 percent increase in a person’s risk of dementia
- can lead to long-term "fight-or-flight" stress signaling, which negatively affects immune system functioning
Including a 2019 study done for the American Cancer Society that found that social isolation increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer mortality.
I'm about to write a blog about ways that we can reduce loneliness (that is a real hard question to answer but I have some thoughts).
Until then,
Enjoy life and smile a lot.
