Feelings of loneliness may directly affect a person's mental and physical well-being over the long term, according to researchers at the University of Chicago.
A team of scientists compared the stress levels of university students with an average age of 19 with those of middle-aged and older people, with an average age of 57.
They found that those adults who reported feeling lonely had higher blood pressures than those who did not, while lonely participants within both age groups were found to be more likely to report more chronic stressors and recall more unhappy events in childhood.
Furthermore, urine samples taken from the older lonely participants showed them to have significantly higher levels of the stress hormone epinephrine, suggesting that they live in a heightened sense of arousal, which could have longer-term implications on the general health.
Looking at the sleep patterns of the study's participants, the researchers also concluded that those who claimed to be lonely suffered from poor-quality sleep, which could lead them to having health problems in the future and may accentuate body's aging effects at an earlier age.
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