Study: Loneliness changes how the body functions at a molecular level

"Loneliness can make you sick" is truer than you think based on a recent study
published in the medical journal Genome Biology that looks at the biological changes that people go through when they are lonely. Yes, heartaches can lead to heart attacks.

The research links feelings of social isolation to an alteration in the activity of specific genes. The result is that lonely people are put at higher risk for serious disease. Surprising the study showed that it is the perception of being lonely (regardless of whether someone is really lonely or not) that lead to the gene-level changes.

Chronic social isolation stresses the entire cardiovascular system and can also hurt one's ability to fend off colds and other viruses. This is because lonely people produced fewer antibodies, which the body uses to tag pathogens, like bacteria and viruses. Lonely people also have a lower antiviral response; a group of genes involved in fighting viruses were not expressing themselves as much.

Fortunately the study showed that all is not bleak for those feeling lonely. The researchers found that "even just one new but meaningful contact can make all the difference. And to manage creeping stress, [they suggest that you] take some basic relaxation measures like meditation or paced breathing."

Story source: Newsweek