In the meantime, please feel free to search for ways to make a difference in your community at www. Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again. Now Reading:. Membership My Account. Rewards for Good. Share with facebook. Share with twitter. Share with linkedin. Share using email. People tend to be social creatures, and research has shown that social connections are vital for both emotional and physical well-being.
However, alone time also plays a pivotal role in mental health. Being around other people comes with rewards, but it also creates stress. You worry about what people think. You alter your behavior to avoid rejection and to fit in with the rest of the group. While it may be the cost of being part of a social world, some of these challenges demonstrate why alone time can be so important.
Having time for yourself gives you the chance to break free from social pressures and tap into your own thoughts, feelings, and experiences. Where many people struggled with feelings of isolation and loneliness, others faced the challenges of suddenly spending a great deal of time in close quarters with family members or roommates.
Blurred work-life boundaries and a lack of time apart meant that many people were suddenly struggling with a complete lack of alone time. Finding time to be alone can have a number of key benefits. Some of these include:. Becoming comfortable in your own company can give you the time and freedom to truly explore your own passions without interference. It can be a way to try new things, research topics that fascinate you, acquire knowledge, and even practice new methods of self-expression.
Giving yourself alone time means you can explore these things without the pressures and judgments that others may impose. Having time to yourself is critical for growth and personal development. Instead of worrying about the needs, interests, and opinions that others may have, alone time lets you focus on yourself. Alone time is an opportunity to let your mind wander and strengthen your creativity. Without the need to care for or interact with other people, you can ignore outside influences and focus inward.
Research actually suggests that being alone can lead to changes in the brain that help fuel the creative process. One study found that people who tend to purposely withdraw in order to spend time alone also tend to be highly creative people.
In a study published in the journal Nature Communications , researchers found that perceived social isolation aka loneliness led to increased activity in the neural circuits related to imagination. When left with a lack of social stimulation, the brain ramps up its creative networks to help fill the void.
Living alone tends to be seen in a negative light. However, researchers have found that people who live alone may actually have richer social lives and more social energy than people who cohabitate with others. Klineberg found that not only were these adults not lonely, many actually had richer social lives. Alone time can be challenging for some people for a variety of reasons. One study found that many people would prefer to give themselves painful electric shocks rather than just sit alone with their own thoughts.
Some of these reasons people might struggle with being alone include:. Marketing professor and researcher Rebecca Ratner of the University of Maryland found that people often avoid doing things they enjoy if they have to do them alone. This is particularly true if it is an activity that can be observed by others, such as going to dinner or a movie solo.
Such findings suggest that stigma about being alone influences whether people think they enjoy such activities. It is also important to note that aspects of your personality, as well as your individual preferences, can play a role in determining how much alone time you need and how beneficial it may be.
Extroverts tend to feel energized by social experiences, so solitude might be more challenging for them. Contributing factors to loneliness include situational variables, such as physical isolation, moving to a new location, and divorce. The death of someone significant in a person's life can also lead to feelings of loneliness. Additionally, it can be a symptom of a psychological disorder such as depression.
Depression often causes people to withdrawal socially, which can lead to isolation. Research also suggests that loneliness can be a factor that contributes to symptoms of depression. Loneliness can also be attributed to internal factors such as low self-esteem.
People who lack confidence in themselves often believe that they are unworthy of the attention or regard of other people, which can lead to isolation and chronic loneliness. Personality factors may also play a role. Introverts , for example, might be less likely to cultivate and seek social connections, which can contribute to feelings of isolation and loneliness. Loneliness has a wide range of negative effects on both physical and mental health , including:.
If you are having suicidal thoughts, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at for support and assistance from a trained counselor. If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call For more mental health resources, see our National Helpline Database.
These are not the only areas in which loneliness takes its toll. For example, lonely adults get less exercise than those who are not lonely. 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. A social support network is comprised of family, friends, and peers. Having intimate relationships with others helps you feel cared for and maintain optimism, and aids in stress management. All of these emotional benefits lead to stronger immunity to help you fight disease and stress.
Alternatively, according to Dean Ornish, MD, in his book Love and Survival: The Scientific Basis for the Healing Power of Intimacy, among heart patients, depression is as good a predictor of imminent death as smoking, obesity, or a previous heart attack.
In a Duke University Medical Center study of 1, men and women with at least one severely blocked artery, the unmarried patients without close friends were three times more likely than the others to die over the next five years.
Similar findings came in a Canadian study of women with breast cancer. Seven years after diagnosis, 72 percent of the women with at least one intimate relationship survived; only 56 percent of those who did not have a confidant survived.
The kind of intimacy necessary appears to be an emotional connection to someone, not necessarily a sexual relationship. Another supporting study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association revealed that people with more diverse social networks less social isolation have a greater resistance to upper respiratory infections. But how do you resolve loneliness? Everyone feels a little lonely now and again, and experts say that this forlornness can actually be a good thing, as long as you do something about it.
According to research published in the journal Sleep , loneliness can wreck your chances of getting a restful night's sleep. Researchers measured the sleep cycles of 95 people in South Dakota, comparing them with the participant's self-reported loneliness scores. None of them lived isolated lives, but some reported feeling lonelier than others. The results? The lonelier the participant, the higher the levels of fragmented sleep. This means you wake up a little bit at night even though you aren't aware of it.
How does a steamy bath or piping-hot cup of coffee sound to you? If it sounds downright comforting, you may want to read this:.
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