Recently, researchers have found that a person's mental health is also a factor in their risk for accelerated aging. According to researchers, certain psychological issues — such as hopelessness, unhappiness, and loneliness — increase a person's biological age more than smoking.
“We demonstrate that psychological factors, such as feeling unhappy or being lonely, add up to 1.65 years to one's biological age,” they write.
'Epigenetic clock runs faster' in depression
“What we see is, in fact, an 'epigenetic clock,' where the patterns of modification of the body's DNA is an indicator of biological age. And this clock seems to run faster in those who are currently depressed or have been stressed.”
A report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) points out that more than one-third of adults aged 45 and older feel lonely, and nearly one-fourth of adults aged 65 and older are considered to be socially isolated.
While being alone and feeling alone are not the same thing, the effect on longevity is similar. The BYU study found that social isolation and living alone were even more harmful to a person's health than feelings of loneliness, increasing mortality risk by 29% and 32%, respectively.
Loneliness can be damaging to both our mental and physical health. Socially isolated people are less able to deal with stressful situations. They're also more likely to feel depressed and may have problems processing information. This in turn can lead to difficulties with decision-making and memory storage and recall.
The de Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale operationalized loneliness by a three-cluster model to present the latent structure of loneliness: emotional, serious emotional, and severe emotional/social loners.
"Lacking encouragement from family or friends, those who are lonely may slide into unhealthy habits," Valtorta says. "In addition, loneliness has been found to raise levels of stress, impede sleep and, in turn, harm the body. Loneliness can also augment depression or anxiety."
For starters, when people are depressed, they may end up tensing specific facial muscles, grimacing or frowning, and these "negative facial expressions can become sort of etched into the skin in the form of fine lines and wrinkles," Day explains.
Premature aging is a condition where a person ages faster than they should. It can happen due to genetics, environment, or a combination of both. Premature aging is also called hyperglycemia and hyperglycemia-associated disorders (HAGD). Premature aging can also cause hair loss, dry or itchy skin, and joint pain.
“Cognitive decline may begin after midlife, but most often occurs at higher ages (70 or higher).” (Aartsen, et al., 2002) “… relatively little decline in performance occurs until people are about 50 years old.” (Albert & Heaton, 1988).
When someone feels lonely they are more likely to try to distract themselves with the other things in their lives. So if your colleague is always talking about their stamp collection, or always flying away on exotic solo city breaks rather than spending weekends at home, they might be feeling alone.
Loneliness can leave people feeling isolated and disconnected from others. It is a complex state of mind that can be caused by life changes, mental health conditions, poor self-esteem, and personality traits. Loneliness can also have serious health consequences including decreased mental wellness and physical problems.
What causes loneliness? There is not one single cause of loneliness. Loneliness can often be a result of life changes or circumstances that include living alone, changing your living arrangements, having financial problems, or death of a loved one.
Stage 4: Depression. The despair of loneliness is an all-encompassing emotion.
How it Affects Your Physical Health. If you've experienced ongoing feelings of loneliness, it can have negative effects on your physical health. It could lead to weight gain, sleep deprivation, poor heart health, and a weakened immune system. Loneliness can also put your body under more stress than normal.
Poor social skills often lead to stress and loneliness, which can negatively affect physical as well as mental health.
Your nervous system goes into fight-or-flight mode, making it harder to sleep. When you're lonely, research shows that your brain can produce an excess of norepinephrine, a hormone that's a crucial “signal during the fight or flight response.” Loneliness can feel, to our social selves, like dire straits.
Studies show that feelings of isolation can be linked to: Suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts. Less restful sleep. Decreased ability to regulate eating.