Solitude As a Reactive Homeostatic Response to Psychological Stress: Evidence from a Controlled Experiment

This study (n = 49) explores solitude's role in stress regulation. Participants exposed to social or physical stressors spent 30 minutes alone post-stress. Results showed that solitude significantly reduced high-arousal negative emotions and restored heart rate variability particularly after psychological stress. The findings support solitude's role in maintaining emotional homeostasis.