Area Agencies on Aging external icon AAA —A network of over organizations across America that provides information and assistance with programs including nutrition and meal programs counseling and home-delivered or group meals , caregiver support, and more. The website can help you find your local AAA, which may provide classes in Tai Chi and diabetes self-management. Eldercare Locator external icon —A free national service that helps find local resources for seniors such as financial support, caregiving services, and transportation.
It includes a brochure that shows how volunteering can help keep you socially connected. National Council on Aging external icon —Works with nonprofit organizations, governments, and businesses to provide community programs and services.
National Institute on Aging NIA external icon — Provides materials on social isolation and loneliness for older adults, caregivers, and health care providers. Materials include health information, a print publication available to view or order no-cost paper copies, a health care provider flyer, and social media graphics and posts.
People generally are social by nature, and high-quality social relationships can help them live longer, healthier lives. Health care systems are an important, yet underused, partner in identifying loneliness and preventing medical conditions associated with loneliness.
Nearly all adults aged 50 or older interact with the health care system in some way. Loneliness and social isolation may affect health independently through their effects on health behaviours.
In addition, social isolation may also affect health through biological processes associated with the development of cardiovascular disease. In addition, lonely people are more likely to rely on use of our health and social care services:.
Show More. Loneliness and social isolation as risk factors for mortality: a meta-analytic review. Perspectives on psychological science, 10 2 , pp. Social relationships and mortality risk: a meta-analytic review. PLoS medicine, 7 7 , p. Loneliness and social isolation as risk factors for coronary heart disease and stroke: systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal observational studies. Heart, 13 , pp. Loneliness predicts increased blood pressure: 5-year cross-lagged analyses in middle-aged and older adults.
Psychology and aging, 25 1 , p. The brain and social connectedness: GCBH recommendations on social engagement and brain health. Retrieved from www. Their diet is higher in fat, their sleep is less efficient, and they report more daytime fatigue. Loneliness also disrupts the regulation of cellular processes deep within the body, predisposing lonely people to premature aging.
People who feel less lonely are more likely to be married, have higher incomes, and have higher educational status. High levels of loneliness are associated with physical health symptoms, living alone, small social networks, and low-quality social relationships. Statistics suggest that loneliness is becoming increasingly prevalent, particularly in younger generations. The rise of the internet and ironically, social media, are partially to blame.
Experts believe that it is not the quantity of social interaction that combats loneliness, but the quality. Having a few close friends is enough to ward off loneliness and reduce the negative health consequences associated with this state of mind. Research suggests that the experience of actual face-to-face contact with friends helps boost people's sense of well-being.
One study suggests that loneliness may actually be contagious. Research has found that non-lonely people who spend time with lonely people are more likely to develop feelings of loneliness.
Loneliness can be overcome. It does require a conscious effort to make a change. In the long run, making a change can make you happier, healthier, and enable you to impact others around you in a positive way. Here are some ways to prevent loneliness:. Loneliness can leave people feeling isolated and disconnected from others.
It is a complex state of mind that can be caused by life changes, mental health conditions, poor self-esteem, and personality traits. Loneliness can also have serious health consequences including decreased mental wellness and physical problems. Loneliness can have a serious effect on your health, so it is important to be able to recognize signs that you are feeling lonely.
It is also important to remember that being alone isn't the same as being lonely. If loneliness is affecting your well-being, there are things that you can do that can help you form new connections and find the social support that you need. Work on forming new connections and spend some time talking to people in your life. If you're still struggling, consider therapy. Whatever you choose to do, just remember that there are people who can help.
Ever wonder what your personality type means? Sign up to find out more in our Healthy Mind newsletter. Cacioppo JT, Cacioppo S. The growing problem of loneliness. Conversely, people who engage in meaningful, productive activities with others tend to live longer, boost their mood, and have a sense of purpose. These activities seem to help maintain their well-being and may improve their cognitive function, studies show. Much of what we know about the causes and effects of social isolation and loneliness comes from the groundbreaking research of the late John T.
Cacioppo, Ph. Social isolation is the objective physical separation from other people living alone , while loneliness is the subjective distressed feeling of being alone or separated. A pioneer in the field of social neuroscience, Dr. Cacioppo passed away in March His wife and collaborator, Stephanie Cacioppo, Ph. Treating loneliness is our collective responsibility. Although there is more to learn, the understanding of the mechanisms of action of loneliness and its treatment has increased dramatically since scientific investigation began more than two decades ago, according to Dr.
Stephanie Cacioppo. Among the novel predictions from the Cacioppo Evolutionary Theory of Loneliness is that loneliness automatically triggers a set of related behavioral and biological processes that contribute to the association between loneliness and premature death in people of all ages.
Research is headed toward the systematic study of these processes across generations, Dr. Cacioppo explained. Someone experiencing chronic loneliness feels threatened and mistrustful of others, which activates a biological defense mechanism, according to Steve Cole, Ph. His NIA-funded research focuses on understanding the physiological pathways of loneliness the different ways that loneliness affects how your mind and body function and developing social and psychological interventions to combat it.
For example, loneliness may alter the tendency of cells in the immune system to promote inflammation, which is necessary to help our bodies heal from injury, Dr. Cole said.
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