{"id":17466,"date":"2017-05-19T18:16:12","date_gmt":"2017-05-19T23:16:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/?p=17466"},"modified":"2017-05-19T21:36:10","modified_gmt":"2017-05-20T02:36:10","slug":"loneliness-bigger-health-risk-smoking-age-social-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/2017\/05\/loneliness-bigger-health-risk-smoking-age-social-media.html","title":{"rendered":"Loneliness is Bigger Health Risk than Smoking in Age of Social Media"},"content":{"rendered":"

You\u2019d think we\u2019d be more connected than ever, but even with a million ways to reach out and touch someone, social media notwithstanding, we\u2019re more alone than ever. Sadly, new research suggests that pervasive loneliness is worse for our health than smoking<\/strong>. WOW. You read that right. You can die from loneliness \u2013 but read on and we\u2019ll make sure that doesn\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n

Aside from making us feel miserable, what can loneliness do to our health? Researchers have been looking at this question for at least a decade now, and their findings are shocking. People who consistently feel lonely are much more likely to die early.<\/p>\n

The proof?<\/p>\n

Researchers at Brigham Young University conducted an influential meta-analysis<\/a> of literature on the subject, and found that social isolation increases our risk of death by an astounding<\/a> 30%, and some estimates say that that number is closer to 60%<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

Social isolation also has practical and circumstantial negative effects, but the health risk alone is worth digging a little deeper into.<\/p>

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