Loneliness Harms Health: Why You Need Friends

Can loneliness hurt your health? And what defines loneliness?

Even as modern technology increases our access to other people, our intimate relationships are becoming more scarce. Families are smaller and relatives don’t always live in close proximity anymore. More people work from home, and busy schedules and “to do” lists keep us from connecting in a meaningful way.

That same modern technology that permits us to easily connect with people from all over the world also tends to get in the way of time spent in real face-to-face relationships. Our inborn desire for intimate relationships with other human beings is, for many of us, not being met.

I recently happened across an article reporting on a University of Chicago study that says that long-term loneliness can be a risk factor for hypertension in people aged 50 and older, even when depression and stress are factored out. The study also took other risk factors, like body-mass index, smoking, alcohol use, and demographic differences, into account. Researchers concluded that loneliness is a unique health-risk factor in its own right.

A 2007 article in Medical News Today links the risk of developing Alzheimer’s in old age to social isolation — feeling disconnected from a social environment and close relationships and a general feeling of abandonment. This feeling of loneliness can happen even when one has many social contacts, and increase with age as our circle of friends and family gets smaller after retirement, death of loved ones, and loss of mobility. Researchers found that loneliness was linked to lower levels of cognitive function as well as more rapid decline of function. People who identified themselves as lonely experienced double the risk of developing Alzheimer’s than those who described themselves as least lonely. Notably, actual physical isolation was less important than perceived isolation.

Studies indicate that a sense of isolation disrupts not only will power and perseverance, but key cellular processes deep within the human body. So said a 2008 article on Psychcentral.com. The article goes on to say that chronic loneliness belongs among risk factors such as smoking, obesity, or lack of exercise, and feeling a sense of social connection is vital to mental well-being and physical health.

A 2008 article by USA Today suggested that the pain of loneliness is less about being alone than about feeling alone. Loneliness is a biological process and the effects of this feeling of loneliness can take a physical toll. The mind/body connection is a powerful one.

Loneliness can hamper the immune system, reported WebMD in 2005. A study of college freshmen showed that social isolation can have a stressful impact on the immune system.

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Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Eric D.

11:07AM PDT on Mar 24, 2013

Berny I agree

March 24
send a green star

Berny p.

8:54AM PDT on Jul 23, 2012

Some peopledo not have a choice...they are lonely....

If you dont have a job...girls will not want to go out with you...
You dont own your flat......forget it ...girls dont want to know you...
You have volonter and gone to fight for your country.....forget it you become an outcast...do gooders tell you you are a murderer...

you have work hard in your study...you have a masters...you want to work but people only give you contract work.....so you never know when the next pay check comes from...

I have seen many young men in this situation in the uk and it break my heart when I try to help them!

Many girls now days are to aggressive and only think of money....
very glad that I meet a good english guy and been married for 45 years!

So girls ...think again...because someone has not got a job does not mean he is useless!

July 23
send a green star

Lin M.

8:42AM PDT on Jul 23, 2012

More people really are lonely than admit to it I think.

Lisa T.

4:57AM PDT on Jul 23, 2012

So true. Thanks for the timely article!

Isabel R.

11:10AM PST on Jan 11, 2012

thank you for sharing:)

January 11
send a green star

11:09AM PST on Jan 11, 2012

I need face time with people. I need to find people who want the same thing and actually mean it, not the "friends" that agree with you and you hang out once but then they don't respond back after that one day

Ida J.

10:44AM PDT on Aug 5, 2011

It hurts to be lonley, it is not a good thing.