Feelings of increase the risk of premature death in senior citizens by 14 percent.
A research team found feeling isolated could negatively affect: "sleep, elevate blood pressure, increase morning rises in the stress hormone cortisol, alter gene expression in immune cells, and increase depression and lower overall subjective well-being," a University of Chicago news release reported.
"Retiring to Florida to live in a warmer climate among strangers isn't necessarily a good idea if it means you are disconnected from the people who mean the most to you," John Cacioppo, professor of psychology at the University of Chicago said in the news release.
"We are experiencing a silver tsunami demographically. The baby boomers are reaching retirement age. Each day between 2011 and 2030, an average of 10,000 people will turn 65," he said. "People have to think about how to protect themselves from depression, low subjective well-being and early mortality."
The researcher suggests keeping in touch with old coworkers and participating in family traditions as tactics to avoid this type of depression. Some people enjoy being alone; but in most cases humans thrive on social contact. Age-related symptoms such as loss of vision and hearing can increase the risk of loneliness.
The researchers determined three key factors in healthy social relationships: "intimate connectedness, which comes from having someone in your life you feel affirms who you are; relational connectedness, which comes from having face-to-face contacts that are mutually rewarding; and collective connectedness, which comes from feeling that you're part of a group or collective beyond individual existence," the news release reported.
Isolation itself is not dangerous, but a "subjective sense of isolation" can be harmful to one's health. Older adults who live alone do not have to be lonely as long as they engage in regular social activities and enjoy the company of those they are spending time with.
