Sunday, August 19, 2007
Loneliness Impairs Health
Loneliness is not the same as solitude. Some people are just fine with being alone, and some use the opportunity for self and spiritual growth. But for many, social isolation and physical aging make for a toxic cocktail.Researchers found that lonely people had more of the hormone epinephrine flowing in their bodies. 2002 article by Louise Hawkley and John Cacioppo here. And there is a new article in the August issue of "Current Directions in Psychological Science".
The loneliness of old age seems somehow different, sadder and more painful? Louise Hawkley and John Cacioppo suspected that while the toll of loneliness may be mild and unremarkable in early life, it accumulates with time. If that’s so, they say, one would expect the cumulative effects of loneliness in old age to hasten disease by contributing to such things as stress, coping, rest and recuperation, and more. To test this idea, the scientists have been studying two large groups of people for many years, the first college-age and the second in their late 50s. This allowed them to compare the untoward health consequences of loneliness in youth and old age.
It turns out that as the natural resilience of youth declines, the cumulative toll of loneliness can turn a relatively benign vascular symptom into a life-threatening condition. Lonely people in their late 50s are much more likely to have high blood pressure, it appears.Also, 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 became 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. And it is worse. Lonely nights, even in younger people, 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.
IMO: Unless you are very enthusiastic about meditation etc., try to avoid loneliness at all ages. There's lots more in the literature also.
The loneliness of old age seems somehow different, sadder and more painful? Louise Hawkley and John Cacioppo suspected that while the toll of loneliness may be mild and unremarkable in early life, it accumulates with time. If that’s so, they say, one would expect the cumulative effects of loneliness in old age to hasten disease by contributing to such things as stress, coping, rest and recuperation, and more. To test this idea, the scientists have been studying two large groups of people for many years, the first college-age and the second in their late 50s. This allowed them to compare the untoward health consequences of loneliness in youth and old age.
It turns out that as the natural resilience of youth declines, the cumulative toll of loneliness can turn a relatively benign vascular symptom into a life-threatening condition. Lonely people in their late 50s are much more likely to have high blood pressure, it appears.Also, 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 became 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. And it is worse. Lonely nights, even in younger people, 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.
IMO: Unless you are very enthusiastic about meditation etc., try to avoid loneliness at all ages. There's lots more in the literature also.
# posted by uv : 8:01 PM
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