The Science of Loneliness

Loneliness is a universal human experience, yet it’s often misunderstood and underestimated in its impact on our overall well-being. Today, we’re diving into the science behind loneliness, exploring its effects on our brains and bodies.

Defining loneliness is not simply about being alone – loneliness is that subjective feeling of being socially isolated, even when surrounded by others. 

It’s a complex emotional state that can affect anyone, regardless of social or economic circumstances.

What is Loneliness, Really?

First things first, let’s define what we’re talking about. Loneliness isn’t just about being alone – it’s that subjective feeling of being socially isolated, even when you’re surrounded by others. 

It’s like being at a party where everyone’s speaking a language you don’t understand. You’re there, but you’re not really there, you know?

As the great philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once said:

“My solitude doesn’t depend on the presence or absence of people; on the contrary, I hate who steals my solitude without, in exchange, offering me true company.”

Nietzsche reminds us that it’s not about the quantity of our connections, but the quality. 

Speaking of quantity, ever heard of Dunbar’s number? It suggests we can only maintain about 150 meaningful relationships. 

But here’s the kicker – even if you’ve got 150 friends on speed dial, you can still feel lonely if those connections aren’t deep and authentic.

The Neuroscience of Loneliness: What’s Happening in Our Brains?

When we’re feeling lonely, our brains are actually doing some pretty interesting things:

1. Default Mode Network (DMN) Overdrive:

   The Default Mode Network is the part of our brain that kicks in when we’re not focused on the outside world.
   In lonely people, it goes into overdrive, leading to more self-focused thinking and rumination. It’s like your brain’s version of playing sad songs on repeat.

    

2. Stress Hormone Party:

   Loneliness triggers our stress response, causing our bodies to pump out more cortisol (the stress hormone).

It’s like our bodies are constantly preparing for a tiger attack, except the tiger is the fear of social isolation.

The Body’s Cry for Connection

Isolation is so threatening to tribal species like us that every part of our bodies reacts with a panic response.

1. Heart Health:
   Chronic loneliness can increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases. It’s like loneliness is literally breaking our hearts.
2. Immune System Blues:
   Feeling lonely? Your immune system might be feeling it too. Loneliness can weaken our body’s defences, making us more susceptible to illness.
3. Mortality Risk:
   Here’s a sobering thought – loneliness and social isolation can be as risky for our health as obesity or smoking. Feelings of loneliness and isolation are strongly linked to all-cause mortality.

Mental Health: The Invisible Impact

Loneliness doesn’t just affect our bodies; it messes with our minds too:

It’s no surprise to hear that loneliness can have a profound impact on depression and anxiety. These can feed off each other and create a negative cycle that can be tricky to reverse. 

Prolonged isolation and loneliness are also linked to accelerated cognitive decline. So much happens to our brains when we are surrounded by others and we just can’t afford to miss out on these kinds of activities. 

Breaking the Cycle: The Cure of Connection

Now, here’s the good news – we’re not doomed to loneliness! Here are some ways to foster those quality connections we all need:

1. Find Your Tribe: The internet for all its faults does provide us access to all kinds of people who are interested in all kinds of things. For every niche and random interest, there’s likely an online group, chat room or community to join. Find them.
2. Quality Over Quantity: Sometimes, just one relationship can give us more than an entire group of people. Notice how you feel when you leave their presence, if you feel energised and enthusiastic then maybe this is a clue that you’ve found yourself a deeply nourishing connection
3. Be the Change: So many of us feel this way and sometimes we have the be the ones to go first. Pay someone a compliment, ask someone to join you for coffee, or a walk. Reach out, initiate and show up.
4. Explore New Horizons: Give yourself permission to learn that skill, start a hobby, or go on an adventure.
5. Mindful Social Media Use: Social media is a kind of comparison game that can make us feel even more alone, try to use it sparingly and devote your time to spending time outdoors.

We Are Not Alone in Feeling Alone

Here’s a comforting thought – if you’re feeling lonely, you’re in good company. Paradoxically, loneliness is a shared human experience. 

Recognising this can be the first step towards connection. Reach out, be vulnerable, and remember that many others are looking for connection too.

Remember, we’re wired for connection. It’s not just a want; it’s a need. 

Our brains, bodies, and spirits crave meaningful relationships. Our overall well-being literally depends on it.

Timothy Leary Said It Best

Before I close off, I want to share one of my all-time favourite quotes with you:

“Trust your instincts. Do the unexpected. Find the others”.

Click on the link for the entire quote in the link and take a moment to sit with the significance of his statement.

Then, go out there and do the thing!

Once you’ve been out and done the thing, be sure to come back to this community (Facebook group or our Discord channel) and share with us what adventures you’ve been on, coz we are going to stay connected and do this together!

Magnesium To The Rescue

Every once in a while, I like to look up unexpected correlations just to see what happens. For the purposes of this article, I decided to look up the words: ‘cortisol and magnesium’.

Turns out that being stressed is very depleting of our natural magnesium reserves.

Magnesium is a vital aspect of our health and we cannot thrive without it, and the lower our reserves the more stressed we feel, which is a catalyst for a vicious cycle.

Luckily, once again, functional mushrooms are the heroes we didn’t know we needed, because they are loaded with magnesium.

So while you are out there having amazing adventures, be sure to top up on your magnesium reserves with our Mushroom Essentials Complex; our very own blend of dually extracted and high potency Lion’s Mane, Chaga, Reishi and Cordyceps.

Get some, report back, and share your stories.

As always, 

Shine bright. Do good. Flow strong. 

Asha ✨