Feeling Lonely? Join the Club

No one likes to feel lonely. Even worse is how loneliness and social isolation can affect your health.
Last year, the U.S. surgeon general, Dr. Vivek Murthy, issued an official advisory on what he calls the “epidemic” and “public health crisis” of loneliness and isolation, linked equally to mortality as cigarette smoking or obesity. As we age, disconnection from organized social circles, work and family members and friends exacerbates the problem.
Even before the pandemic, half of the adults in the United States reported experiencing loneliness. What are the effects of loneliness?
“Premature death, let’s start with that,” says Dr. Mark Lachs, co-chief of the division of geriatrics and palliative medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City.
One study found that loneliness increases the risk of premature death by 26 percent. The surgeon general’s advisory puts the risk of premature death at 60 percent. Loneliness increases the risk of heart disease by 29 percent, dementia by 50 percent and stroke by 32 percent. It can contribute to depression, anxiety, even suicide.
Studies also suggest that people who are socially engaged are better off cognitively. Luckily, therapy for loneliness and social isolation is simple: it’s social connection. The surgeon general suggests “creating a culture of connection” to break the cycle of loneliness.
Small acts of service can foster connection. Devote 15 minutes a day to reaching out to someone; extend kindness in the form of smiling and interacting with others, even if it’s the delivery guy; check in on a neighbor. Consider volunteering or joining a community organization. And when you’re with another person at dinner, put your phone away.
In Lachs’ division at Weill Cornell Medicine, the Center for Research and Education for Aging and Technology Enhancement studies how technology tools can aid social connectivity for older people, even the cognitively impaired. The center is also developing virtual reality programs that may allow people in different places to tour a museum together, or even share a meal.
Eventually these tools will be available to ease isolation. Why does loneliness devastate our health? “We desire connection,” says Lachs. “It’s basic to human beings and to being human.”