“It is more harmful than smoking, excessive drinking, and obesity”… Lifestyle habits that double the risk of death

What should I do to live a long life without getting sick? It cannot be solved with healthy food or regular exercise alone. According to a Harvard University study (exploring adult development) that has been ongoing for 85 years from 1938 to the present, the most necessary thing to live a healthy and happy life was a strong relationship with people around you, such as family, friends, and colleagues.

Most physically and mentally healthy elderly people in their 80s were people who had high satisfaction with interpersonal relationships in their 50s, and those in their 80s who had no one to rely on, such as a spouse or friend, had memory decline faster than others.

Robert Waldinger, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard University, said in his book (The Good Life) published last year, “Lonely people who live unintentionally disconnected from society are more likely to experience short-lived lives as their health deteriorates faster than those who feel connected to others. “He said, “People who have someone to rely on (spouse, friends, etc.) in their later years live a ‘good life’ that is healthier and more satisfying.”

✅“If you are lonely, it is easy to get sick.”

Loneliness and isolation are more harmful to your health than alcohol and cigarettes. Hiroshi Murayama (村山洋史), vice director of the Tokyo Metropolitan Health and Longevity Medical Center Research Institute, said, “Loneliness and isolation are more fatal than unhealthy lifestyle habits such as smoking, excessive drinking, obesity, and lack of exercise, increasing the risk of death by up to 1.9 times.” “If contact is reduced, it is difficult to obtain useful health-related information or financial support,” he said.

“A variety of studies confirm that chronic loneliness affects mortality risk. Studies have also shown that stress caused by loneliness causes inflammation in the body, increasing the risk of vascular diseases such as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Your immune system is weakened, your brain function decreases, and your sleep efficiency decreases, making it easy for you to get sick. There are also studies showing that it is a cause of diabetes, cancer, dementia, depression, and suicide.”

✅Loneliness among single women and middle-aged men

So, what kind of people are prone to falling into the cycle of loneliness and isolation? Chosun Ilbo [왕개미연구소]Earlier this month, we commissioned SM C&C’s survey platform ‘Tillian Pro’ to investigate the loneliness and isolation index of 1,513 adult men and women in their 20s to 60s.

According to the survey results, one in ten Korean adults are in a state of deep loneliness and isolation. When asked, ‘Do you feel isolated or lonely in society?’, 13% of respondents answered ‘I always do.’ The proportion of respondents who said ‘not at all true’ was about 35%, and the majority of respondents who said ‘sometimes true’ was 53%.

Loneliness and isolation are often considered the exclusive domain of the elderly, but this survey yielded unexpected results. When analyzed by gender and age group, the group with the highest proportion of responses (14%) saying ‘I always or sometimes feel lonely or isolated’ was women in their 20s and 30s. Among men, middle-aged people in their 40s and 50s had a relatively high sense of loneliness. Men in their 50s are also a group with a higher risk of lonely death than those in their 60s and 70s.

Regarding the spouse status of the respondents who said, ‘I am always lonely,’ the highest number of respondents (52.4%) were single or not married. Married people accounted for about 29%, followed by divorced (12.7%) and widowed (6.3%).

It is not only in Korea that young women and middle-aged men feel loneliness the most. Japan, which became the second country in the world to establish a ‘Loneliness and Isolation Countermeasures Office’ after the UK in 2021, is conducting a survey of loneliness among 20,000 people across the country every year. According to the survey results, loneliness was highest among women in their 20s and 30s and men in their 50s (see table below).

Mitsunori Ishida, a researcher on loneliness and isolation and a professor at Waseda University, said, “Before the advent of smartphones, if you wanted to meet someone, you had to go to a specific place and meet and talk with people there to create a connection.” “Nowadays, everyone has a smartphone, so the number of people who prioritize only the people they want to meet and continue relationships has increased,” he said. In other words, people who have a hard time getting close to others are bound to be more conscious of the problem of loneliness.

Mr. A, an official in the popular psychology industry, also said, “While the older generation has a wide range of social relationships, including family and colleagues, the younger generation these days spends relatively more time alone and online, so they may be more lonely.” “Because there are so many things and the standards for what they want are high, the value standard for feeling happy will be different from the older generation who have already achieved a lot and are accepting of their current life,” he said.

Due to social changes such as single-person households and aging population, the number of lonely people is likely to increase. There may not be a need for social action like in the UK or Japan right now, but individual effort and management are needed before that.

Satokazuma (佐藤一磨), a professor in the Department of Political Science and Economics at Takushoku University, said, “Starting something new or joining a group and starting a relationship can feel cumbersome. In this case, start by contacting a friend from your school days after a long time.” advised. The idea is to contact them first with a light heart and try to establish a connection without putting too much pressure on your shoulders.

➡️No matter how many times you read news related to retirement, you keep forgetting it, right? [왕개미연구소]Review our collection of articles. On Chosun.com, click here, and on portals such as Naver and Daum, copy the site address (designlab.chosun.com/giantAnt/user/html) and enter it in the address bar.