Searches Related to Loneliness Spike
Wise & Well Weekly: The newsletter helping you make tomorrow a little better than today
Welcome back to your weekly dose of wisdom and wellness, with science-backed insights you can use to improve your physical, mental and emotional well-being. If you appreciate highly curated, professionally edited articles, please follow Wise & Well and/or subscribe to this newsletter. We’ve got several new health and wellness articles below, but first…
THIS WEEK’S SPOTLIGHT
Searches for “why do i feel lonely when i have friends” spiked more than 300% in the past year, Google announced this week. Meanwhile, searches for “how to make new friends as an adult” more than doubled in the past 30 days. Similar search queries that are at all-time highs:
- where to meet people
- how to make friends
- how to keep friends
- make new friends
Though sad and concerning, the trend is no huge surprise to researchers who study human connectedness. As I reported last May:
Roughly half of all Americans experience some level of loneliness, and about one-third of people are severely lonely, surveys find.
There’s no single cause, but increased dispersion of families plays a role, as does social media. People can have friends but still feel lonely. Loneliness, the experts tell us, is not about solitude, but about not feeling connected, not having someone we feel we can count on or go to when we need an emotional boost. We can feel lonely even at a gathering of family or friends.
“This is a problem especially for young adults who rely so heavily on their devices that they are foregoing interpersonal relationships,” says Michele Nealon, PsyD, president of the Chicago School of Professional Psychology.
If you or someone you know is lonely, you’ll find suggested remedies here and here.
HEALTHY READING
A selection of this week’s informative and insightful Wise & Well articles:
The Brain Science Behind Aging and Forgetting
Are younger people smarter? Are older people wiser? Living longer affects the brain, but exactly how may surprise you — and forgetting can be quite the blessing.
— By Kathleen Murphy
A Neurodivergent Career: Why Traditional Work Doesn’t Work For Me and What I Do Instead
Decades after her childhood diagnosis of attention deficit disorder, and only after realizing what was really causing her so much frustration and isolation in school and in the workplace, this writer has figured out how to work with her neurodivergent traits instead of against them. The lessons she shares could benefit any of us in navigating our careers (and life in general).
— By Morgan Khalsa
Understand and Overcome Mental Fatigue
The latest research suggests mental fatigue is in large part a psychological phenomenon, but one that can be overcome by setting simple, specific, challenging goals to increase motivation and spur successful effort on the task at hand.
— By Matthew Robison
How Should You Exercise With Pain?
It can seem counterintuitive, but chronic pain typically benefits from exercise. But where to begin? And how to do it safely? This physical therapist offers specific, practical, and doable approaches to get you safely on track to better fitness and lower pain.
— By Zachary Walston, PT, DPT, OCS
Do You Really Need Mouthwash?
For people with good oral health who brush and floss regularly, there’s not much scientific evidence that mouthwash offers additional benefit. And when scientists really sink their teeth into analyzing the available research, they find some mouthwashes can do more harm than good. Here’s the actual science behind the marginal and uncertain benefits and emerging risks.
— By Robert Roy Britt
Tai Chi Packs a Health-Boosting Punch
The writer normally seeks out faster-paced activities. But research finds serious heart-health benefits to tai chi, so she gives it a try and is surprised by the experience.
— By Chris Arestides
Why Shock and Shame Shut Down Disclosure of Sexual Assault
This is the first in an occasional Wise & Well series of Stories We Never Told Anyone. It begins: “I didn’t tell anyone after I was sexually assaulted. It was years before I mentioned it to a few family members. That was the extent of my revelations until this article.”
—By John Kruse MD, PhD
And from our sister publication, Aha! …
What is the Faintest Flavor We Can Taste?
Just like we have limits on how far we can see, we have limits on how low of a concentration we can taste — or even sense at all. And those limits are different for different flavors. Funny thing is, we can taste things even before we’re consciously aware of them, and we can detect one of the five tastes at much lower concentrations than the others.
— By Sam Westreich, PhD
Wise & Well writers are physicians, psychiatrists, research scientists, dieticians, fitness experts, journalists and other professionals who share their expertise to help you make tomorrow a little better than today. Like what you see? Please follow Wise & Well and/or subscribe to this newsletter. — Rob
