 |
|
Loneliness is bad for your health
August 20, 2007Two University of Chicago psychologists, Louise Hawkley and John Cacioppo, have been trying to disentangle social isolation, loneliness, and the physical deterioration and diseases of aging, right down to the cellular level.
The researchers suspected that while the toll of loneliness may be mild and unremarkable in early life, it accumulates with time. To test this idea, the scientists studied a group of college-age individuals and continued an annual study of a group of people who joined when they were between 50 and 68 years old.
Their findings, reported in the August issue of Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, are revealing. Consider stress, for example. The more years you live, the more stressful experiences you are going to have: new jobs, marriage and divorce, parenting, financial worries, illness. It's inevitable.
However, when the psychologists looked at the lives of the middle-aged and old people in their study, they found that although the lonely ones reported the same number of stressful life events, they identified more sources of chronic stress and recalled more childhood adversity. Moreover, they differed in how they perceived their life experiences. Even when faced with similar challenges, the lonelier people appeared more helpless and threatened. And ironically, they were less apt to actively seek help when they are stressed out.
Hawkley and Cacioppo then took urine samples from both the lonely and the more contented volunteers, and found that the lonely ones had more of the hormone epinephrine flowing in their bodies. Epinephrine is one of the body's "fight or flight" chemicals, and high levels indicate that lonely people go through life in a heightened state of arousal. As with blood pressure, this physiological toll likely becomes more apparent with aging. Since the body's stress hormones are intricately involved in fighting inflammation and infection, it appears that loneliness contributes to the wear and tear of aging through this pathway as well.
There is more bad news. When we experience the depletion caused by stress, our bodies normally rely on restorative processes like sleep to shore us up. But when the researchers monitored the younger volunteers' sleep, they found that the lonely nights were disturbed by many "micro awakenings." That is, they appeared to sleep as much as the normal volunteers, but their sleep was of poorer quality. Not surprisingly, the lonelier people reported more daytime dysfunction. Since sleep tends to deteriorate with age anyway, the added hit from loneliness is probably compromising this natural restoration process even more.
Loneliness is not the same as solitude. Some people are just fine with being alone, and some even see solitude as an important path to spiritual growth. But for many, social isolation and physical aging make for a toxic cocktail.
Association for Psychological Science
However, when the psychologists looked at the lives of the middle-aged and old people in their study, they found that although the lonely ones reported the same number of stressful life events, they identified more sources of chronic stress and recalled more childhood adversity. Moreover, they differed in how they perceived their life experiences. Even when faced with similar challenges, the lonelier people appeared more helpless and threatened. And ironically, they were less apt to actively seek help when they are stressed out.
Hawkley and Cacioppo then took urine samples from both the lonely and the more contented volunteers, and found that the lonely ones had more of the hormone epinephrine flowing in their bodies. Epinephrine is one of the body's "fight or flight" chemicals, and high levels indicate that lonely people go through life in a heightened state of arousal. As with blood pressure, this physiological toll likely becomes more apparent with aging. Since the body's stress hormones are intricately involved in fighting inflammation and infection, it appears that loneliness contributes to the wear and tear of aging through this pathway as well.
There is more bad news. When we experience the depletion caused by stress, our bodies normally rely on restorative processes like sleep to shore us up. But when the researchers monitored the younger volunteers' sleep, they found that the lonely nights were disturbed by many "micro awakenings." That is, they appeared to sleep as much as the normal volunteers, but their sleep was of poorer quality. Not surprisingly, the lonelier people reported more daytime dysfunction. Since sleep tends to deteriorate with age anyway, the added hit from loneliness is probably compromising this natural restoration process even more.
Loneliness is not the same as solitude. Some people are just fine with being alone, and some even see solitude as an important path to spiritual growth. But for many, social isolation and physical aging make for a toxic cocktail.
Association for Psychological Science
Loneliness Current Events and Loneliness News RSSFirst impressions count when making personality judgments, new research shows
First impressions do matter when it comes to communicating personality through appearance, according to new research by psychologists Laura Naumann of Sonoma State University and Sam Gosling of The University of Texas at Austin.
Overweight Kids Experience More Loneliness, Anxiety, MU Study Finds
As childhood obesity rates continue to increase, experts agree that more information is needed about the implications of being overweight as a step toward reversing current trends.
A Warm TV Can Drive Away Feelings of Loneliness and Rejection
Not all technology meets human needs, and some technologies provide only the illusion of having met your needs.
Few friends combined with loneliness linked to poor mental and physical health for elderly
Although not having many close friends contributes to poorer health for many older adults, those who also feel lonely face even greater health risks, research at the University of Chicago suggests. Older people who are able to adjust to being alone don't have the same health problems.
Children seriously affected when a parent suffers from depression
Life is hard for the children of a parent suffering from depression. Children take on an enormous amount of responsibility for the ill parent and for other family members.
NYU Langone Medical Center study shows that cochlear implant surgery is safe for the elderly
Contrary to conventional medical wisdom, a new study by NYU Langone Medical Center researchers shows that healthy elderly patients with severe to profound hearing loss can undergo a surgical procedure to receive cochlear implants with minimal risk.
Those Were the Days: Counteracting Loneliness with Nostalgia
With the days getting shorter (and colder) and the Holidays quickly approaching, many of us start thinking back to days gone by.
How to get a college roommate you can live with
Anxious college freshmen can relax. No matter who will be sharing their dorm room, they have the power to make the relationship better, University of Michigan research suggests.
Case Western Reserve University study finds caregivers of spouses with dementia enjoy life less
Spouses of husbands and wives with dementia pay an emotional toll as they care for their ailing spouse. This has prompted a call for new interventions and strategies to assist caregivers in coping with the demands of this difficult time, according to a study from Case Western Reserve University's Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences.
Social form of bullying linked to depression, anxiety in adults
Spreading rumors and gossiping may not cause bruises or black eyes, but the psychological consequences of this social type of bullying could linger into early adulthood, a new University of Florida study shows.
More Loneliness Current Events and Loneliness News Articles
 |
Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection by John T. Cacioppo (Author), William Patrick (Author) “One of the most important books about the human condition to appear in a decade.”—Daniel Gilbert, author of Stumbling on Happiness University of Chicago social neuroscientist John T. Cacioppo unveils his pioneering research on the startling effects of loneliness: a sense of isolation or social rejection disrupts not only our thinking abilities and will power but also our immune systems, and can be as damaging as obesity or smoking. A blend of biological and social science, this book demonstrates that, as individuals and as a society, we have everything to gain, and everything to lose, in how well or how poorly we manage our need for social bonds. 12 illustrations. |
 |
Positive Solitude : A Practical Program for Mastering Loneliness and Achieving Self-Fulfillment by Rae Andre (Author) How can a person alone find love and meaning in life? Being happy alone is an essential life skill that psychologist Rae André calls positive solitude. Here is an intelligent response to the loneliness, loss of community, and desperate relationships that have become so much a part of our times. This holistic approach explains how to avoid the traps of loneliness while learning to face the challenges of living alone. Positive Solitude is a clear, practical guide for those who are newly alone or unhappy alone, and an affirmation for those who have long enjoyed their solitude. |
 |
Loneliness as a Way of Life by Thomas Dumm (Author) “What does it mean to be lonely?” Thomas Dumm asks. His inquiry, documented in this book, takes us beyond social circumstances and into the deeper forces that shape our very existence as modern individuals. The modern individual, Dumm suggests, is fundamentally a lonely self. Through reflections on philosophy, political theory, literature, and tragic drama, he proceeds to illuminate a hidden dimension of the human condition. His book shows how loneliness shapes the contemporary division between public and private, our inability to live with each other honestly and in comity, the estranged forms that our intimate relationships assume, and the weakness of our common bonds. A reading of the relationship between Cordelia and her father in Shakespeare’s King Lear points to... |
 |
Path of Loneliness, The: Finding Your Way Through the Wilderness to God by Elisabeth Elliot (Author) Whether through the death of a loved one, divorce or estrangement in a marriage, or by being a single person in a world of couples and families, loneliness eventually comes to us all. Elisabeth Elliot lost her first husband to murder in the South American jungle and her second to the ravages of cancer. She has felt the deep pain of loss. In The Path of Loneliness, Elliot gives hope to the lonely through tender reflections on God's love for us and his plans to bless us. She tackles this difficult topic with grace and faith, showing readers how to make peace with loneliness and grow through it. |
 |
Healing Your Aloneness: Finding Love and Wholeness Through Your Inner Child by Margaret Paul (Author), Erika J. Chopich (Author) Erika Chopich and Margaret Paul show how anyone can reconnect with his or her Inner Child to short-circuit self-destructive patterns, resolve fears and conflicts, and build satisfying relationships. Healing Your Aloneness outlines a self-healing process that can be used every day to restore a nurturing balance between loving Adult and loved Inner Child. |
 |
The Long Loneliness: The Autobiography of the Legendary Catholic Social Activist by Dorothy Day (Author) A compelling autobiographical testament to the spiritual pilgrimage of a woman who, in her own words, dedicated herself "to bring[ing] about the kind of society where it is easier to be good.' |
 |
The Naked Soul: God's Amazing, Everyday Solution to Loneliness by Tim Alan Gardner (Author) Go ahead. Leave your loneliness behind. We all want to matter to someone, but the risks of relationship can seem far too great. It’s easier to just keep our distance. We fear embarrassment, misunderstandings, and even rejection, so we silently endure our loneliness. We work on trying to be nice–rather than being real–hoping that others will like us. Or we might simply give in to the path of least resistance–the life of hurry, impatience, and fatigue–which feels familiar and safe. We pay a terrible price to avoid authentic relationships. It’s time to stop denying your deepest longing–the desire to be known and loved. The Naked Soul shows you how to know and accept others, and how to be known and accepted by others. You can exchange the familiar but... |
 |
On Love and Loneliness by Jiddu Krishnamurti (Author) In 1950 Krishnamurti said: "It is only when the mind is not escaping in any form that it is possible to be in direct communion with that thing we call lonliness, the alone, and to have communion with that thing, there must be affection, there must be love."On Love and Lonliness is a compelling investigation of our intimate relationships with ourselves, others, and society. Krishnamurti suggests that "true relationship" can come into being only when there is self-knowledge of the conditions which divide and islolate individuals and groups. Only by renouncing the self can we understand the problem of lonliness, and truly love. |
 |
Defeating Loneliness by Peter Burgess (Author) Overcoming loneliness becomes a reality when the root cause is revealed and dealt with openly. Within the pages of this book, Defeating Loneliness, readers will discover not only the root causes of loneliness but they will be introduced to strategies designed to extricate them from their plight. It is the confident hope of this author that Defeating Loneliness will be a catalyst to emotional and spiritual health by providing readers with tangible solutions to their feelings of emptiness and desperation, inspiring them to pursue a path to victorious living. Dr. Peter H. Burgess |
 |
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner Starring: Michael Redgrave, Tom Courtenay, Avis Bunnage, Alec McCowen, James Bolam Directed By: Tony Richardson Also With: Walter Lassally (Cinematographer), Tony Richardson (Producer), Antony Gibbs (Editor), Michael Holden (Producer), Alan Sillitoe (Writer) A young rebel is chosen to represent his reform school in a track race.Running Time: 104 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA UPC: 085391116868 Manufacturer No: 111686 |
| © 2009 BrightSurf.com |