The evaluation of loneliness was measured by a score of 43 or higher on the UCLA Loneliness Scale, a 20-item questionnaire developed to assess subjective feelings of loneliness, as well as social isolation. The UCLA Loneliness Scale is a frequently referenced and acknowledged academic measure used to gauge loneliness.

The survey of more than 20,000 U.S. adults ages 18 years and older revealed some alarming findings:

• Nearly half of Americans report sometimes or always feeling alone (46 percent) or left out (47 percent).

• One in four Americans (27 percent) rarely or never feel as though there are people who really understand them.
  
  
• Two in five Americans sometimes or always feel that their relationships are not meaningful (43 percent) and that they are isolated from others (43 percent).
  
  
• One in five people report they rarely or never feel close to people (20 percent) or feel like there are people they can talk to (18 percent).
  
  
• Americans who live with others are less likely to be lonely (average loneliness score of 43.5) compared to those who live alone (46.4). However, this does not apply to single parents/guardians (average loneliness score of 48.2) – even though they live with children, they are more likely to be lonely.
  
  
• Only around half of Americans (53 percent) have meaningful in-person social interactions, such as having an extended conversation with a friend or spending quality time with family, on a daily basis.
  
  
• Generation Z (adults ages 18-22) is the loneliest generation and claims to be in worse health than older generations.
  
  
• Social media use alone is not a predictor of loneliness; respondents defined as very heavy users of social media have a loneliness score (43.5) that is not markedly different from the score of those who never use social media (41.7).

"We view a person's physical, mental and social health as being entirely connected," said David M. Cordani, president and chief executive officer of Cigna. "It's for this reason that we regularly examine the physical, mental and social needs of our people and the communities they live in. In analyzing this closely, we're seeing a lack of human connection, which ultimately leads to a lack of vitality – or a disconnect between mind and body. We must change this trend by reframing the conversation to be about 'mental wellness' and 'vitality' to speak to our mental-physical connection. When the mind and body are treated as one, we see powerful results."

The survey also revealed several important bright spots. The findings reinforce the social nature of humans and the importance of having communities. People who are less lonely are more likely to have regular, meaningful, in-person interactions; are in good overall physical and mental health; have achieved balance in daily activities; and are employed and have good relationships with their coworkers. More specifically, the survey showed:

• People who engage in frequent meaningful in-person interactions have much lower loneliness scores and report better health than those who rarely interact with others face-to-face.
  
  
• Getting the right balance of sleep, work, socializing with friends, family and "me time" is connected to lower loneliness scores. However, balance is critical, as those who get too little or too much of these activities have higher loneliness scores.
  
  
• Sleep: Those who say they sleep just the right amount have lower loneliness scores, falling four points behind those who sleep less than desired and 7.3 points behind those who sleep more than desired. They are significantly less likely to feel as though they lack companionship (37 percent vs. 62 percent of those who oversleep) and are significantly more likely to feel like they have someone they can turn to (85 percent vs. 71 percent).  
  
  
• Spending time with family: Those who spend more time than desired with their family and those who spend less time than desired are on par with one another when it comes to experiencing feelings of loneliness. Those who report spending too much time with family stand out as being more likely than those who don't to say that they feel as though they are part of a group of friends (73 percent vs. 64 percent) and they can find companionship when they need it (74 percent vs. 67 percent).
  
  
• Physical activity: People who say they get just the right amount of exercise are considerably less likely to be lonely. The loneliness score of those who exercise more than desired increases by 3.5 points, while a similar uptick is seen for those who exercise less than desired (3.7 points). Those who exercise more than desired and those exercising for just the right amount are on par when it comes to feeling as though they are part of a group of friends (79 percent, each), have a lot in common with others (75 percent of those who exercise more vs. 79 percent who exercise just right), and can find companionship when they want it (76 percent vs. 80 percent).
  
  
• The workplace: Those who say they work just the right amount are least likely to be lonely – the loneliness score of those who work more than desired increases by just over three points, while those who work less than desired showed a 6-point increase in loneliness. Not surprisingly, those who report working less than desired are less likely to report having feelings associated with being less lonely (e.g., feeling outgoing and friendly, there are people you can talk to, etc.), compared to those who work more than desired.

"There is an inherent link between loneliness and the workplace, with employers in a unique position to be a critical part of the solution," said Douglas Nemecek, M.D., chief medical officer for Behavioral Health at Cigna. "Fortunately, these results clearly point to the benefits meaningful in-person connections can have on loneliness, including those in the workplace and the one that takes place in your doctor's office as a part of the annual checkup. While one solution won't stop this growing public health issue, we've started to make changes to our business to help our clients and others to tackle loneliness and realize their vitality."

Loneliness makes your brain work differently, study shows - Social isolation can cause our brains to become more alert to threats

The study suggests lonely people are subconsciously looking out for negativity From the 95-year-old couple who called 999 because they wanted someone to talk to, to the John Lewis Christmas advert which is taking the nation by storm for its touching relationship between an old man and a little girl, the issue of loneliness has never been more prominent.

In recent weeks we've also heard about the pensioner who rang a local BBC radio station to tell them he missed his wife, and have received sobering statistics from charity Age UK who say a million elderly people often go a whole month without speaking to anyone.

And now researchers have shown being lonely can actually have a physical impact on your brain.

The study, published in the journal Cortex, was led by married researchers Stephanie and John Cacioppo, from the University of Chicago, who are experts on the psychology and neuroscience of loneliness.

They found that lonely people’s brains differ from those of non-lonely people, Medical Daily reported.

In fact, lonely people are actually more alert to threats and the possible danger of strangers, because their brains become more active in social situations.

Psychology Today reported that when we feel socially isolated our nervous systems automatically switch into 'self-preservation mode', which makes us more abrasive and defensive - even if there's actually no threat.

The most terrible poverty is loneliness, and the feeling of being unloved

The researchers found this out by distributing a 'loneliness questionnaire' to 38 'very lonely' people and 32 people who 'didn’t feel lonely'. They defined feeling lonely as a subjective feeling of isolation, rather than number of friends or close relatives.

They used electrodes on subjects' heads to record brain waves, and also conducted a Stroop Test using words such as “belong”, “party,” “alone”, “solitary”, “joy” and “sad” - which were tagged as either 'social/positive', 'social/negative', 'nonsocial/positive' and 'nonsocial/negative' to see the different ways they responded.

They found lonely people became highly vigilant when the words were regarded as 'socially negative', whereas non-lonely people responded in similar ways to both social and nonsocial negative words.

In conclusion, they surmised that lonely people’s brains are conditioned to tune into social threats faster than what is considered 'normal'.

And this hyper-vigilance to respond to social threats could be rooted in the subconscious.

"Our evolutionary model of the effects of perceived social isolation (loneliness) on the brain as well as a growing body of behavioral research suggests that loneliness promotes short-term self-preservation, including an increased implicit vigilance for social, in contrast to nonsocial, threats," they wrote in the study.

They also found that even though the test was designed to be fast and reactive, to give subjects little time to think about their answers, lonely people picked out socially threatening words like “hostile” and negative nonsocial words like “vomit” more quickly too.

And they said that this suggests lonely people are subconsciously looking out for negativity

7 Types of Loneliness, and Why It Matters

One key — maybe the key — to happiness is strong connections to other people.

One major challenge within happiness is loneliness. The more I’ve learned about happiness, the more I’ve come to believe that loneliness is a common and important obstacle to consider.

To be happy, we need intimate bonds; we need to be able to confide, we need to feel like we belong, we need to be able to get and give support. In fact, strong relationships are key — perhaps the key — to a happy life.

Of course, being alone and being lonely aren’t the same. Loneliness feels draining, distracting, and upsetting; desired solitude feels peaceful, creative, restorative.

It seems to me that there are several types of loneliness. Of course, not everyone experiences loneliness in the situations described — for instance, not everyone wants a romantic partner. But for some people, the lack of certain kinds of relationships brings loneliness.

Once we’ve pinpointed the particular kind of loneliness we’re experiencing, it may be easier to spot ways to address it.

Here are some types I’ve identified — what have I overlooked?

7 Types of Loneliness

1. New-situation loneliness You’ve moved to a new city where you don’t know anyone, or you’ve started a new job, or you’ve started at a school full of unfamiliar faces. You’re lonely.

2. I’m-different loneliness You’re in a place that’s not unfamiliar, but you feel different from other people in an important way that makes you feel isolated. Maybe your faith is really important to you, and the people around you don’t share that — or vice versa. Maybe everyone loves doing outdoor activities, but you don’t — or vice versa. It feels hard to connect with others about the things you find important. Or maybe you’re just hit with the loneliness that hits all of us sometimes — the loneliness that’s part of the human condition.

3. No-sweetheart loneliness Even if you have lots of family and friends, you feel lonely because you don’t have the intimate attachment of a romantic partner. Or maybe you have a partner, but you don’t feel a deep connection to that person.

4. No-animal loneliness Many people have a deep need to connect with animals. If this describes you, you’re sustained by these relationships in a way that human relationships don’t replace. While I love my dog Barnaby, I don’t feel this myself — but many people feel like something important is missing if they don’t have a dog or cat (or less conveniently, a horse) in their lives.

5. No-time-for-me loneliness Sometimes you’re surrounded by people who seem friendly enough, but they don’t want to make the jump from friendly to friends. Maybe they’re too busy with their own lives, or they have lots of friends already, so while you’d like a deeper connection, they don’t seem interested. Or maybe your existing friends have entered a new phase that means they no longer have time for the things you all used to do — everyone has started working very long hours, or has started a family, so that your social scene has changed.

6. Untrustworthy-friends loneliness Sometimes, you get in a situation where you begin to doubt whether your friends are truly well-intentioned, kind, and helpful. You’re “friends” with people but don’t quite trust them. An important element of friendship is the ability to confide and trust, so if that’s missing, you may feel lonely, even if you have fun with your friends.

7. Quiet-presence loneliness Sometimes, you may feel lonely because you miss having someone else’s quiet presence. You may have an active social circle at work, or have plenty of friends and family, but you miss having someone to hang out with at home — whether that would mean living with a roommate, a family member, or a sweetheart. Just someone who’s fixing a cup of coffee in the next room, or reading on the sofa.

(Fluierul)