Loneliness - PsyBlog

The Personality Trait Linked To Loneliness

Feeling lonely is a part of some people’s genetic makeup.

People who are neurotic have a genetic tendency towards loneliness.

Neuroticism is a personality trait that indicates a tendency to experience stress and insecurity.

However, loneliness is not just genetic, it is also a result of life circumstances.

In fact, the environment plays a bigger part than genetics — which is good news, because that means it can change.

Lonely people do not have to stay that way, whatever their genetic makeup.

Professor Julie Aitken Schermer, the study’s first author, said:

“If you have rich interactions with people, that’s an environmental component that would combat the genetic impact of loneliness.”

The conclusions come from research on 764 pairs of twins in Australia.

Twins enable researchers to separate out the influence of genetics and the environment on a person.

All were asked about their personality and any loneliness they experienced.

The results showed that people who were neurotic reported feeling more lonely.

In contrast, those who were high in extraversion, agreeableness and conscientiousness were less likely to experience loneliness.

The authors write:

“The results suggest common genetic and unique environmental factors play a role in personality and loneliness.”

Professor Schermer is worried about the spread of loneliness across society:

“It does concern be me because we’re getting lonelier as a society.

We’re not having the same richness of interaction.”

Professor Schermer sees it in her students:

“They’re all looking at their devices and not interacting with each other.

I always tell my students, ‘Put your stuff down and talk to each other.’

This is the key time to make friends – they already have things in common.”

The study was published in the Journal of Research in Personality (Schermer & Martin, 2019).

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Why Sleep-Deprived People Push Everyone Away (And It’s Contagious)

Almost half of all Americans report feeling lonely or left out.

Sleep deprivation makes people feel more lonely.

Not only that, but lack of sleep makes people less likely to engage with others, so compounding the problem of loneliness.

The reason is that people feel socially unattractive when they don’t get enough sleep.

And others spot this: loneliness is spread, almost virally, from sleepy people to the well-rested after only a short encounter.

The study’s findings show that lack of sleep and loneliness interact with each other to make the problem worse.

Professor Matthew Walker, study co-author, said:

“We humans are a social species.

Yet sleep deprivation can turn us into social lepers.”

Sleep’s social cost

For one study, the researchers scanned people’s brains while they watched videos of strangers walking towards them.

Brain activity in the sleep deprived showed they would rather avoid social contact.

Professor Walker said:

“The less sleep you get, the less you want to socially interact.

In turn, other people perceive you as more socially repulsive, further increasing the grave social-isolation impact of sleep loss.

That vicious cycle may be a significant contributing factor to the public health crisis that is loneliness.”

Dr Eti Ben Simon, the study’s first author, said:

“It’s perhaps no coincidence that the past few decades have seen a marked increase in loneliness and an equally dramatic decrease in sleep duration.

Without sufficient sleep we become a social turn-off, and loneliness soon kicks in.”

Professor Walker thinks the lack of a safety net is why sleep deprivation can be so harmful:

“There’s no biological or social safety net for sleep deprivation as there is for, say, starvation.

That’s why our physical and mental health implode so quickly even after the loss of just one or two hours of sleep.

On a positive note, just one night of good sleep makes you feel more outgoing and socially confident, and furthermore, will attract others to you.”

The study was published in the journal Nature Communications (Simon & Walker, 2018).

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Banish Loneliness: 10 Simple Techniques To Feel More Connected (P)

From mindset shifts to simple actions, these science-backed tips fight loneliness fast.

Loneliness is an emotion designed to tell us that we do not have enough pleasurable and rewarding social relationships in our lives.

Between 30-40 percent of people around the world report being constantly lonely.

However, psychological research has uncovered a range of simple, sometimes surprising strategies that can ease feelings of isolation and help people feel more connected.

From straightforward everyday actions to mindset shifts, here are 10 ways to boost feelings of connection (plus five more bonus methods at the end).

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