Good Lifestyle

Loneliness is a disease. In his worst, solitudemay cause Alzheimer's disease, reduce your cardiovascular health and immunity, and precipitate depression and suicide thoughts. Loneliness is also a growing disease, a cause for concern so strong that the United Kingdom has recently appointed a minister of loneliness to help more than 9 million British residents who often report alone.

"I want to confront this challenge for our society and for all to take steps to solve the solitude endured by the elderly", the British PM Theresa cansaid in a January statement.

But while loneliness is often considered an affliction of seniors,A new shocking survey revealed that the youngest people are even more lonely than their former counterparts.

Tuesday, the health insurer Cigna and the IPSOS market research company published an investigation of 20,000 Americans, about half of which feel lonely almost all the time.

Conduct the study, the insurer usedthe balance of solitude UCLA,which uses a series of statements to calculate a solitude score between 20 and 80.

The average score on the balance was a 44 steep for most Americans. One of the Americans in four rarely or never feel like if there are people who really understand them. One in five people report that they rarely feel or never feel close to people or feel like there are people they can talk about. Americans who live with others are less likely to be alone to be solitary to those who live alone, with the exception of single parents / guardians, who are even more likely to be alone, despite the presence of children . Only half of the Americans reported having a significant conversation with a daily person.

The most surprising discovery, however, was that the most lonely generation was judged between ages 18 to 22, called Generation Z, or the Igenation.

The members of the Z generation had a global score of the solitude of 48.3, against 45.3 for the millennia. The baby boomers had an average of 42.4 years and, in an unexpected twist, the largest generation (persons aged 72 and over) had the lowest score of all with 38.6.

While social media were not revealed as a predictor of loneliness (those who reported it to use often have a 43.5 score, which is not terribly different from the 41.7 reported by Those who reported never use it), many people blame internet for why people feel so disconnected these days.

ARecent study revealed that "Phubbing"-The act of ignoring someone when reversing your phone - can have devastating effects on your relationships with others, and other research has shown that it was leading to marital marital satisfaction and a larger Probability of depression.

Given the quantity of social media dominates the life of generation Z (recent statistics show 39% of adults aged 18 to 29 admit to be online "almost constantly"), it is difficult not to see the correlation betweenthe rise of technical dependency and the prevalence of loneliness in this age group.

The investigation also noted that this demographic was healthier than previous generations, which is less surprised, because loneliness has serious health consequences.Some studies have even found This loneliness can have the same effect on mortality than smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

"We consider the physical, mental and social health of a person being entirely linked," David Mr. Cordani, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cigna,said in the press release. "It is for this reason that we regularly examine the physical, mental and social needs of our people and communities where they live. By closely analyzing this, we see a lack of human connection, which finally leads to a lack of vitality. - or disconnection between the mind and the body. We need to change this trend by recharging the conversation to make "mental well-being" and "vitality" to talk about our physical physical connection. When the spirit and our body Are treated as one, we see powerful results. "

If you feel lonely, you can take a number of steps to help you.Research has shown that the adoption of a pet Can provide immense emotional support, reduce stress and even help you live longer. Take digital detox andConnection with IRL friends has also been proven to reduce loneliness. Recent research has found thateven do something as simple as keeping hands With someone can mitigate emotional and physical pain.

To fight against loneliness, Cigna also recommendsGet a good night's sleep, since those who "say they slept, the right amount has lower scores of loneliness, falling four points behind those who sleep less than desired and 7.3 points behind those who sleep more than desired."

Exercise is also a useful tool , as "people who say they receive only the good amount of exercise are considerably less likely to be alone" than those who do not.

But the most important thing you can do is to spend significant time with people in your life: your colleagues, your friends, your family members, even the man who sells you coffee in the morning. So, remove these headphones, put your smartphone and let the human connection sink.

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