Loneliness harms body in same way as prolonged fasting

A new study by researchers from the University of Vienna in Austria and the University of Cambridge in the UK has now found eight hours of loneliness can sap energy and increase fatigue as much as going eight hours without food in certain people, Report informs referring to ScienceAlert.

The team's lab test and field experiment showed people who live alone or who particularly enjoy social interactions are the most likely to be affected by a lack of company. What's more, it seems as though the reduction in energy is the result of changes in the body's homeostatic response: a sort of balancing act, where the lack of social connection triggers a biological reaction.

"In the lab study, we found striking similarities between social isolation and food deprivation," say the first authors of the study, psychologists Ana Stijovic and Paul Forbes from the University of Vienna in Austria.

"Both states induced lowered energy and heightened fatigue, which is surprising given that food deprivation literally makes us lose energy, while social isolation would not."

For the lab study, 30 female volunteers were examined on three separate days of eight hours each: one day without social contact, one day without food, and one day without either social contact or food. The participants gave feedback on their stress, mood, and fatigue, while heart rate and salivary cortisol levels (standard stress indicators) were also measured.

While the field experiment didn't involve food, its results – lower levels of energy after isolation – match up with the lab work, suggesting that the comparison between going without social interaction and going without sustenance is a valid one. The real-world test was also where those living alone and the more sociable were shown to be most affected. Their reported energy levels dropped on days where they interacted with no-one compared to days with some brief social interactions – an effect not seen in less sociable participants.