How Loneliness Impacts Our Health

As humans, we evolved in community. People gathered in small tribes to support one another, to provide protection, warmth, food, and care for children. Given our nature, being completely autonomous and independent is a threat to survival. Our basic need to be interdependent remains even though the backdrop of humanity has transformed over centuries.

A 2020 Cigna survey showed that more than three in five working American adults are lonely, and rising numbers report feeling left out, is understood or as though they lack companionship (1). These findings contribute to the sense that we are facing a “loneliness epidemic,” as described by former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy. Loneliness and social isolation have been linked to sleep loss, ill health, dementia, premature death, and even heartbreak—literally (2). These effects on our health are as harmful to our life expectancy as a 15-cigarette-a-day smoking habit (3).

Although loneliness and social isolation are often used in the same breath, the two are distinctly different. Loneliness is essentially the perception of social isolation (4), whereas social isolation is the absence of regular human interaction in one’s life. These phenomena are tied to belonging, trust, social cohesion (the strength of the bonds among members of a community) and social capital (the tangible and intangible benefits a person reaps from his or her social network) as components of our social health, defined as a critical aspect of overall health. Social health is defined as “that dimension of an individual’s well-being that concerns how s/he gets along with other people, how other people react to her/ him, and how s/he interacts with social institutions and social mores.”(5) Strong social capital has been associated with finding employment (6), lower disability rates (7) and easier access to health services (8)… FULL REPORT, Click here.

REFERENCES: (1. Cigna, 2020; (2. Cacioppo & Cacioppo, 2018; Holt-Lunstad, 2017; Holt-Lunstad, Smith, & Layton, 2010 (3. Holt-Lunstad et al., 2010.

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