Five little-known facts about loneliness

Just one word can save someone's life.





 

The feeling of loneliness in varying degrees familiar to all – or almost all. Fortunately, for many of us this is only a temporary condition, perhaps caused by changes in life such as moving or changing jobs.

But for some people loneliness is a way of life that can only be associated with a number of other people, and with the lack of communication with them. Studies have shown that chronic loneliness can cause adverse effects on your health.

Scientists are still studying the connection between mental and physical health and how loneliness affects our bodies. But you may not be aware of some of their discoveries.

1. Loneliness can affect a human brain is like the physical validator Sanjay Gupta writes in the article about the study 2003 for a magazine OMagazine:

“Led by doctor of philosophy, University of California Naomi Eisenberger the study showed that the sense of rejection that alienates us from society and causes feelings of loneliness, triggers activity in the same areas of the brain that register physical pain.

It's easy to explain from an evolutionary point of view: our prehistoric ancestors relied on social groups not just for communication, but also for survival. Being close with his tribe, they had shelter, food and protection. Separation from the group, on the other hand, meant danger.

Now, when we feel abandoned, our body can feel the threat to their survival, “including” some of the same pain signals that are triggered if we are in real physical danger. People who are constantly suffering from loneliness, the level of stress hormone – cortisol in the morning is higher than the rest, and never fully subside at night.

2. Loneliness may not allow you myspacecandy who feel lonely, more likely to suffer from nocturnal sleep disturbances than those who are not concerned about the lack of communication, says the study in 2011.

The researchers found that the link between insomnia and loneliness persisted even after account was taken of marital status and family size. It is assumed that loneliness does not depend on the actual circumstances, but from how people perceive them.

All 95 participants in the study had strong social ties and they were members of close-knit rural community in South Dakota. However, scientists found that even small differences in the extent of their loneliness is reflected in the quality of sleep.”

3. Loneliness increases the risk of Slavonian the result of the study in 2012, which was attended by nearly 2200 elderly residents of Amsterdam, researchers found that those volunteers who felt alone (regardless of the number of friends and proximity to family) were more likely to develop dementia than those who actually lived alone.

Study participants were aged 65 to 86 did not show signs of dementia and did not live in nursing homes. About half lived alone, and 20 % reported that they felt lonely. Almost two-thirds were women.

Making allowance for such factors as age, the researchers found that loneliness increases the risk of dementia by 64%. But they warn it does not prove that loneliness causes dementia and noted that it may be Vice versa: the occurrence of dementia and its accompanying mood changes could contribute to social isolation and loneliness.

4. Loneliness can contribute to premature sortida other used in the 2012 study showed that living alone or simply feeling lonely may increase the risk of early death.

In a follow-up study included 45 thousand people aged 45 and over who either suffered from heart disease or were prone to it. The study revealed that people who live alone are at higher risk to die from heart attacks, strokes and other complications within four years than people living with family or friends.

The second study focused on people over 60, and found that men and women were 45% more likely to die during the study period (six years) if they reported feelings of loneliness, isolation or abandonment. But it was not necessarily those who lived alone. The researchers say that the link between loneliness and health problems is maintained even when it is already taken into account the conditions of life, depression and other factors.

5. Loneliness can break your heart (literally)People who report chronic loneliness can have excessive expression of genes associated with cells that provoke an inflammatory reaction in response to tissue damage, in accordance with the study of 93 adults in 2011.

Although this inflammatory response may be useful in the short term, more long-term inflammation can lead to heart disease and cancer.

The study showed only a link between gene expression and loneliness, so it's unknown for sure, what this is causing. However, one of the researchers, Steven Cole suggested that anti-inflammatory drugs may help people who are unable to get rid of feelings of loneliness.

 

source: mixstuff.ru

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