The detrimental effects of loneliness on health can be traced back to evolution, with one expert warning that it increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease and Alzheimer’s.
Severe loneliness not only causes emotional pain but also leads to physiological changes that may not be immediately noticeable but can significantly impact health in the long run.
Science writer David Robson, speaking on the Modern Wisdom podcast with Chris Williamson, described friendships as the “friendships are the ultimate cure” for many societal ailments, much like exercise helps ward off numerous illnesses and physical conditions.
He explained: “When we were in pre-history, living in nature that was really dangerous with the threat of predators or other groups that might attack our group. You really had to have solid alliances with the people around you.
“The same way you feel physical pain when you have a wound that needs to be tended, you have a social pain to warn you that your relationships aren’t as secure as they need to be to keep you physically safe.”
Loneliness triggers a strong bodily response due to our evolutionary history, during which solitude often meant certain death. This is why loneliness increases blood-clotting factors and inflammation in the body.
The expert elaborated: “You see an increase in inflammation because if you’re isolated you’re at more risk of injury so you have this low-level inflammation that’s going to protect you from infection if you do get injured.
“You have high levels of blood-clotting factors, which would stop you losing blood if you’re attacked.”
These physiological changes may not be immediately apparent, but they can cause significant damage if the loneliness that triggers them persists over a long period.
He added: “Inflammation and blood clotting might be good in the short-term if you do have a wound but in the long-term it’s going to increase your risk of Alzheimer’s, stroke or heart attack.
“Stroke and heart attack are the two things that are most strongly linked to loneliness. The mechanism is totally bound into our evolutionary history.”