From: Vox
Loneliness is an essential human feeling that rises and falls throughout our lives
June 8, 2016
Vox:
Loneliness is epidemic, and in the coming years it could explode.
Forty percent of people age 65 and older report being lonely at times. And the percentage of people living alone has been rising steadily since the 1960s.
Look at this GIF of how America will age until 2050. It’s a wave of increasing old age, but it may also represent a soul-crushing wave of loneliness as baby boomers age into their 70s.
…
“What studies also show is that [loneliness] has real physiological consequences,” says Maike Luhmann, a psychologist at the University of Cologne in Germany. “Blood pressure goes up, and it can go up permanently. You can see these mechanisms then lead to more general health problems in people. And in the end, it makes them die earlier.”
Read the whole story: Vox
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