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Canberra Today 14°/16° | Friday, March 29, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Study: Loneliness can be as harmful as smoking

LONELINESS is a killer, according to new ANU data, which shows that loneliness can be as harmful as smoking. 

But, the research also shows that community connections are a vital way to help combat loneliness, according to Dr Tegan Cruwys, from ANU’s Research School of Psychology.

Even just one meaningful interaction, virtual or face-to-face, can have lasting mental health benefits, Dr Cruwys says.

“We found participants’ mental health was improved from attending just one neighbourhood event, and the benefit was still felt even six months later,” she says.

This research is particularly important now, when, last month, online searches for “how to stop feeling lonely” increased by 100 per cent, according to Google Trends.

Amid a global pandemic, the researchers analysed community connections made during Relationships Australia’s Neighbour Day Campaign in both 2019 and 2020.

Looking at 344 different neighbourhood activities across suburbs in every state of Australia during 2019, they found that people who feel part of their neighbourhood after attending the event feel less lonely and have better wellbeing.

Early data from 2020, which takes in the experiences of almost 300 respondents, shows a significant increase in loneliness between early March and early April.

“In the context of stay-at-home regulations, we are seeing not only an increase in physical isolation but also in people’s sense of subjective isolation from one another. This is a known risk factor for health,” Dr Cruwys says.

“A large part of the answer to loneliness lies in feeling connected to a community.

“It is meaningful to feel like you are part of a community that values you. It doesn’t have to be neighbours – it can be belonging to your family or your workplace.

“What is most important is that people feel a sense of belonging.”

Dr Cruwys’ 2019 research published in BMC Geriatrics found that connecting to the community was four times more important for mental health outcomes for retirees than the state of their finances.

“Social connectedness is on average four times stronger than financial security in predicting good health for older people,” she says.

“While a lot of effort goes into preparing retirees to manage their financial future, most people often don’t receive any support in managing their social future.”

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Ian Meikle, editor

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