Loneliness can be a killer -- and this particular impairment makes it even worse.
No doubt you’ve heard the phrase “dying of a lonely heart.” It’s true, many people do. In fact, here’s a staggering finding: In terms of dying early, being lonely is worse—two times worse, in fact, than being obese.That’s according to researchers from the University of Chicago, who tracked more than 2,000 people aged 50 and over for more than six years. They found that the average person in the study who admitted being lonely had a 14% greater risk of dying an early death.
Contributing to this isolation, points out the Institute’s Erica Solway, Ph.D., are major life events like retirement, the death of a spouse, children moving away or becoming a long-distance grandparent. All can separate people from loved ones, former colleagues and neighbors who were once integral parts of a person’s daily life.“Some people may not anticipate the challenges that this might bring for their social environment,” Solway says.
Meantime, do things like email, social media and video chats count as social interaction? It’s subjective. For some, a Skype call with a friend or grandchild may be enough to stave off loneliness. Still, holding that grandchild’s hand can’t be beat. And pay it forward: consider volunteering somewhere in your community. It’s a good way to meet new people and doesn’t it feel good to help others?
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