5 Reasons Why Loneliness Is Not Good for Health

Bumisuka.com – 5 Reasons Why Loneliness Is Not Good for Health. The older you get, the smaller your circle of friends. Right now, everyone is focused on their own lives. Some pursue a career, continue their education, or even start their own family. Life as an adult finally feels very tiring, and lonely at the same time.

For people who live alone without a family or partner, the feeling of loneliness will increase. Apart from having an effect on mental conditions, this is also possible to have an impact on physical health. To find out more, here’s a review of why loneliness is not good for health.

1. Loneliness can trigger chronic inflammation

Inflammation is actually the body’s mechanism for fighting infection. However, if it occurs for a long time, even when germs or other injuries are gone, inflammation can trigger the development of various serious diseases, such as diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, and cancer.

A meta-analysis study published in the journal Neuroscience and Biobehavioural Reviews in 2020 explained that people who feel lonely have fairly high levels of cytokines in their bodies. Cytokines are chemical compounds that can trigger inflammation.

2. The ability of the immune system decreases

Still in the same study, it was explained that the human body interprets loneliness with stress or pain. This then triggers the production of cytokines and triggers an inflammatory reaction to overcome them.

Reported by WebMD, under stressful conditions, the body will also produce various hormones such as cortisol which has the risk of lowering the immune system. Thus, the body’s ability to fight infection decreases and the body becomes susceptible to illness.

3. Increase the risk of dementia

In fact, people who feel lonely are more at risk of experiencing cognitive disorders such as dementia or memory loss. This is explained by a study published in the Journal of Gerontology in 2018.

Through the literature study, Dr. Angelina R. Sutin as the leader of the research explained that social relationships show a positive effect on the brain. Interacting with other people has the potential to protect the brain because it keeps the brain active.

4. Loneliness is not good for heart health

Loneliness is also known to have a negative effect on the heart. According to a study published in the journal Heart in 2016, people who felt lonely or had no social life reported a 29 percent greater risk of having a heart attack and a 32 percent greater risk of having a stroke.

Previously, a study in the journal Psychology and Aging published in 2010 stated that loneliness has a risk of increasing blood pressure. Furthermore, blood pressure can lead to other diseases such as atherosclerosis or narrowing of the arteries, to coronary heart disease.

5. Increase the risk of premature death

Overall, loneliness can increase the risk of early death by up to 29 percent. These findings were obtained through a meta-analysis study involving more than 3.4 million participants and published in the journal Perspectives on Psychological Science in 2015.

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that early death is caused by a variety of chronic diseases whose risk increases in people who experience loneliness. Intense social relationships and interactions are believed to reduce the risk.

Without realizing it, loneliness turns out to have a bad impact on physical and mental health. Therefore, you must stay connected with other people to get rid of loneliness. Few tips, you can join the community or meet family or friends regularly. Don’t let yourself be isolated from the world around you!