With around seven billion people on the planet, plus all the social media, you’d think the last problem we have is loneliness. But you’d be wrong. And loneliness isn’t just a psychological problem. It’s actually bad for your health.
American TV personality and magazine owner Oprah Winfrey started a campaign earlier this year to improve the world one hello at a time. Research shows that loneliness and the feeling of being excluded triggers the same regions in the brain that register physical pain. Feeling more connected to others is good for our health. Studies at the University of California showed that levels of cortisol go down when we are “known by name”, even if it’s just at the local café.