Although people are social creatures, there are those who love solitude among us, and those who cannot stand it. The literature of loneliness has been made for centuries, but what does the scientific world say about it?
A study by scientists from the University of Vienna has concretely revealed how people who do not like loneliness feel. According to research, 8 hours of solitude has the same effect as 8 hours of hunger, whether you like it or not.
Among those most affected are those who live alone:
Those who live alone and those who like to interact with other people are among the people that loneliness has the same effect as hunger and that it affects the most. So it doesn’t matter which pole you are in. In tests, it is seen that when these people are alone for a long time, their energy starts to decrease and they feel tired.
Another important result of the study was the biological effect of loneliness. The scientists assessed that the decrease in energy was the result of the body’s homeostatic response. This indicates that social deficiency has turned into a biological response.
So how were these results achieved?
Scientists carried out two separate studies in the laboratory and in the field. In the laboratory environment, 30 female volunteers either did not eat for 8 hours or were alone for 8 hours over three separate days. Then, feedback on how they felt was collected.
In the field study, the data of individuals from Austria, Italy and Germany during the COVID-19 period were examined. In the data of April-May 2020, it was shared that people slept more while in isolation. At the same time, these people were asked to answer the questions asked in the study in the laboratory environment from their smartphones.
Although the food factor was not tested in the field study, the data obtained after isolation matched the laboratory data.
Loneliness can be a great danger to individuals:
Some studies to date have also revealed the effect of loneliness on health problems such as obesity. It has also been shown that loneliness is a preference that one tends to become more accustomed to over time.
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