Notes on: The Science and Signs of Loneliness

'The Science and Signs of Loneliness is taken from the course, 'Managing Happiness,' by Arthur Brooks on edX.org.

Loneliness is not your proximity to people. Someone can feel lonely even in a crowded room.

Mirror Neurons

Neurons are brain cells and 'mirror neurons' are the brain cells that react in response to an action or an observed event. They typically fire when someone else's neurons are firing, and they give us the ability to feel empathy - like we have an understanding of what another person is feeling. They also make us the ability to feel safe and because someone else feels and understands what we are feeling.

Through science, we know that our bodies react to physical touch, connection and intimacy by releasing oxytocin, and this highlights how loneliness can exist.

What are the telltale signs of loneliness that a clinician can observe in someone else?

According to Dr. Aparna Atlura, the best thing we can do is ask, especially with a younger demographic.

It might be easier for us to think and ask these questions of older people, but younger people often live alone and can experience loneliness too. However, even as a clinician, it is sometimes very hard to observe, and you need to rely on self-reporting, so the best option is to ask.

Sometimes you may ask and not get an honest response, and if you ask again a few more times, you may eventually get a glimpse, but the only real way is for them to be open about it. Until someone is ready to accept the issue, it is very difficult to observe.

What is the effect of loneliness on the human brain?

Loneliness often leads to chronic low-level inflammatory responses and increases in stress hormones, like cortisol. It changes the neurochemistry of the brain, switching off dopamine neurons, which makes it harder to feel joy.

Over a long-period of time of experiencing loneliness, people will often loose the ability to feel joy even for things that may have made them joyful in the past. Some research suggests that it can also be an early trigger for dementia, and even impact the length of someone's life.

When we are in circumstances where we lack a sense of community, our mirror neurons don't fire very often, which can deepen feelings of loneliness. One of the best ways to ensure our brain continues to be receptive to triggers of joy, is to continue finding ways to be receptive to social connections.