Humans need companionship as much as they need water, air, and nourishment. Previous studies have shown that permanent isolation puts us at risk of physical harm in more ways than one.
A new study by researchers from the University of Vienna in Austria and the University of Cambridge in the UK found that eight hours of loneliness can drain energy and increase fatigue as much as eight hours without food for some people.
What's more, it appears as if the low energy is the result of changes in the body's homeostasis response: a kind of homeostatic action, where a lack of social contact triggers a biological reaction.
“In the laboratory study, we found striking similarities between social isolation and food deprivation. Both conditions caused decreased energy and increased fatigue, which is surprising given that deprivation Food literally makes us lose energy, while social isolation won't."
For the laboratory study, 30 female volunteers were examined on three separate eight-hour days: one day without social contact, one day without food, and one day without social contact or food. Participants provided feedback about their stress, mood and fatigue, while their heart rate and salivary cortisol levels (standard indicators of stress) were also measured.
The field experiment involved 87 participants living in Austria, Italy or Germany, and covered periods of Covid lockdown measures between April and May 2020. Participants spent at least eight hours in isolation and were asked to answer questions via smartphone: about stress, mood and fatigue.
While the field experiment did not include food, its results — lower energy levels after isolation — matched the lab work, suggesting that the comparison between a lack of social interaction and a lack of sustenance is the correct one. The real-world test was also where those who lived alone were shown to be the most socially affected. And their reported energy levels decreased on days when they interacted with no one around compared to days with few short social interactions - an effect not seen in the less social participants.
"The fact that we see this effect even after a short period of social isolation suggests that low energy could be a 'social homeostatic' adaptive response, which can become maladaptive in the long term," says psychologist Giorgia Silani, from the University of Vienna. .
So with time in isolation, the damage is likely to get worse: Previous studies have compared loneliness to general health problems such as obesity, suggesting there is a higher risk of premature death due to social isolation.
Previous research has also shown evidence of a feedback loop, whereby a lack of social engagement makes us less likely to want to go out into the world and make connections — a kind of loneliness spiral that is increasingly difficult to break out of.
The research has been published in the journal Psychological Science.
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