When you nurture your social relationships, you are doing something as important for your health as your physical activity, your weight, and the other well-known risk factors. For those of us who have diabetes, managing our blood sugar certainly has to come first, but nothing else matters as much as having a healthy social life.
If you are socially isolated, you increase inflammation in your body and damage your immune system. It can be a factor leading to diabetes, arthritis, and heart disease. But when you surround ourselves with supportive friends, even managing your blood sugar is easier.
A huge research review that the journal Perspectives on Psychological Science published in March 2015 concluded your risk of premature death increased by 26 for reported loneliness, 29 percent for social isolation, and 32 percent for living alone. Data from 70 independent prospective studies that followed 3,407,134 people for an average of 7 years formed the basis of the review led by Julianne Holt-Lunstad, Ph.D., of Brigham Young University’s Department of Psychology.
“Making Major Ripples”
The abstract of study, “Loneliness and Social Isolation as Risk Factors for Mortality,” is free online, and Dr. Holt-Lunstad sent me a copy of the full text. It greatly expands the 2010 meta-analytic review that she led, “Social Relationships and Mortality Risk.”
Not until a couple of months ago did I discover Dr. Holt-Lunstad’s work, when I read an interview with another psychology professor, Barbara Fredrickson, that The Sun published last year and a friend brought to my attention. “Her paper on this is making major ripples all over the social sciences, because it suggests that we’re not targeting all the right behaviors when it comes to improving people’s health,” Dr. Fredrickson says. “We need to focus also on creating more positive social connections.”
But We’re More Isolated Than Ever
Instead, we are becoming more isolated than ever. A report published last year that the new research review cites states that “researchers have predicted that loneliness will reach epidemic proportions by 2030 unless action is taken.”
Already, more than half of American adults are single, and about one out of every seven adults live alone. Sociology Professor Eric Klinenberg’s popular 2012 book, Going Solo, hails its convenience and advantages, but as the new study points out, “physical health is not among them.”
Shocked into Action
When I read Dr. Holt-Lunstad’s new study, I was shocked to learn that living alone was so dangerous to my health. I have many friends here and don’t feel lonely, but I have lived alone for nine years in a two-bedroom apartment. The study helped me to decide that I really wanted to have someone to share my apartment, and a week ago that happened.
The increasing social isolation of Americans is another trend that all of us need to avoid if we are going to manage our health.
This article is based on an earlier version of my article published by HealthCentral.
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So glad to have found your site again. I am 80 and been a widow for 13 yr. live in my own home. Diabetic II for 25 +yr. Now need to decide to go to retirement center, get a room mate, or continue, etc. How does one go about this? Is yours also diabetic? Best wishes and thanks for your help.
My roommate — actually she is my housemate because we don’t share a room — doesn’t have diabetes. She is 28, neat, clean, and quiet. She is especially quiet now because she is away at a conference for a couple of weeks. I put the word out in many places, but by far the most response came from Craigslist. This is the website that has replaced classified advertising in newspapers. Because all the Craigslists are local, you can — and must — meet potential housemates in person before making any arrangements. Two other musts are to get a security/damage deposit of an additional month’s rent up front and to get a security/background check by one of the companies that do this. I hope that you find someone to share your home with you. My wife died about nine years ago, and I really like having someone to share my place now.