Do you know much about why the body’s response to loneliness can affect our life expectancy?
Our bodies still need human connection in order to survive. When we are not getting enough human connection, our stress levels, our levels of the stress hormone cortisol get so elevated. cortisol suppresses our immune system function, which makes us more susceptible to all kinds of diseases.
Why is loneliness such a problem for us? Well, given that, biologically, evolutionarily speaking, our bodies still need human connection in order to survive, when we are not getting enough human connection, our stress levels, our levels of the stress hormone cortisol get so elevated. Now, the problem with cortisol is it suppresses our immune system function, which makes us more susceptible to all kinds of diseases. This is why, following Covid, when a lot of research was done into the effects of loneliness, it was discovered that lonely people were more prone to stroke, cancer, heart disease, dementia, cognitive decline, all kinds of physical and mental illnesses, including depression and including drug and alcohol addiction.
