Loneliness is a warning system

For years, scientists thought loneliness was a feeling with no redeeming value, but today they are changing their opinions about this.

During the last three decades, University of Chicago neuroscience researcher John Cacioppo has found that the feeling of isolation and rejection called loneliness is a sort of evolutionary warning sign.

People feel loneliness when their relationships must be repaired or replaced.

In studies of people ages 50 to 68, Cacioppo has found that loneliness increases self-centeredness. He speculates that this is because humans depend on others for mutual aid and protection. When other people are not around, then people focus intensely on themselves. It is a way of surviving in the absence of community and is probably an evolutionary adaptation.

Lonely people tend to become more defensive and less pleasant to be around, which reinforces loneliness, he says.

Just as physical pain alerts us to damage to the body, loneliness alerts us to damaged social relationships.

The toll of loneliness can also be physical, Cacioppo has found, and can increase the chances of premature death by 14 percent.

In fact, loneliness has been shown to have twice the impact on early death that obesity does. With this in mind, Cacioppo cautions retirees to think twice before moving to Florida for the warm climate, if it means they will find themselves around strangers and disconnected from people they know.

Cacioppo’s research found three core dimensions to feeling connected and not lonely:

* Face-to-face contacts that are rewarding.
* Feeling that you are part of a group.
* Knowing someone who affirms who you are.