“Well-being index” predicts population cardiovascular risk

Well-being index (WBI) is a comprehensive measure of an individual’s satisfaction with their career, social and community relationships, finances and health.  Researchers compared results from a Gallup national WBI survey to CDC cardiac death data, and found a nearly 14%…

Virginia Tech neuroscientist offers insight into how loneliness can affect health

Efforts are underway to address the “epidemic of loneliness and isolation” affecting the country, as recently addressed by the U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy who is laying out a “National Strategy to Advance Social Connection” initiative. Virginia Tech neuroscientist Georgia Hodes says that reports of depression and anxiety are up at least 3-fold since the start of the COVID epidemic.

Having a partner more important than children to staving off loneliness during pandemic, new study finds

A new study released in the European Journal of Ageing found that having a partner had a greater impact than having children in helping to stave off loneliness among older adults during the pandemic’s first wave. Researchers at the University of Rhode Island, University of Florence, University of Maryland Baltimore County and the SGH Warsaw School of Economics analyzed data on more than 35,000 adults aged 50 and older from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe to examine if unpartnered and childless older adults reported more loneliness and how that changed over the course of the pandemic.

Rutgers Expert Available to Discuss How Exercise Behaviors Changed During COVID-19 Pandemic

New Brunswick, N.J. (April 14, 2021) – Rutgers expert Brandon L. Alderman, who focuses on the science of exercise and its impact on mental health and cognitive function, is available for interviews on how exercise behaviors have changed during the…

COVID-19 pandemic has increased loneliness and other social issues, especially for women, Mayo research finds

Social distancing guidelines have reduced the spread of COVID-19, but lockdowns and isolation also have created or aggravated other well-being concerns, reports new research. Mayo Clinic investigators found a significant increase in loneliness and a decrease in feelings of friendship during the pandemic.

From San Diego to Italy, Study Suggests Wisdom can Protect Against Loneliness

Researchers at UC San Diego School of Medicine and University of Rome La Sapienza examined middle-aged and older adults in San Diego and Cilento, Italy and found loneliness and wisdom had a strong negative correlation. The wiser the person, the less lonely they were.

FSU researchers find resilience, not loneliness, in nationwide study of pandemic response

Social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic has not led to an overall increase in loneliness among Americans.

That’s the takeaway from a comprehensive, nationwide study by Florida State University College of Medicine researchers who surveyed more than 2,000 people before and during the enactment of stay-at-home policies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Robotic Cats Are ‘Purr-fect’ Companions for Seniors Isolated Due to COVID-19

Researchers provide the “purr-fect” solution to comfort and engage older adults with Alzheimer’s disease and other related dementias (ADRD) during the pandemic – interactive robotic cats. Designed to respond to motion, touch and sound, these robotic pets offer an alternative to traditional pet therapy. Robotic pets are usually given to people with ADRD, but data has shown that using them to decrease social isolation for older adults is highly successful.

As stay-at-home orders increase, so do feelings of loneliness and depression

To stop the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, the governing bodies of cities and states across the country are ordering people to stay home. But studies have shown that the loneliness and depression that may result from social isolation impacts not only mental health, but physical health as well. Jena Lee, MD, a board-certified child and adult psychiatrist and clinical instructor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, discussed how stay-at-home and shelter-in-place orders may affect emotional and physical wellbeing, and how to counteract those effects.

Mount Sinai Researchers Find Social Isolation During Key Developmental Windows Drives Long-Term Disruptions in Social Behavior

MEDIA ADVISORY Nature Communications study UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL: Friday, February 21 at 5:00pm EST Mount Sinai Researchers find social isolation during key developmental windows drives long term changes to activity patterns of neurons involved in initiating social approach in an…

A prescription for the pain of rejection: Acetaminophen and forgiveness

The emotional distress that often accompanies a breakup is called social pain, and it may cause sadness, depression and loneliness, as well as actual physical pain, research has shown.

A study, published recently in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine may have found an antidote – forgiveness combined with acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol.