Named the previously unknown cause of insomnia

Loneliness does not sleep.

The results of a study conducted by researchers from king’s College London (UK), published in the journal Psychological Medicine.

The researchers emphasize that the question in this case is not about social exclusion, namely, inner sense of loneliness. You can be socially isolated and not feel lonely, and conversely, to be surrounded by a lot of people and still experience that feeling. Although it is believed that this effect is more common in older people, but, according to the British mental health Foundation, loneliness is not familiar to young people aged 18 to 34 years.

The authors involved in the study of 2232 identical twin at the age of 18-19 years. The participants had to answer four questions: “How often do you feel that you lack companionship?”, “How often do you feel abandoned by all?”, “How often do you feel isolated from others?” and “How often do you feel lonely?”. Answering the questions, participants were asked to rate on a scale how these statements correspond to the truth.

Summing the scores, the researchers were able to figure out how many points I scored each participant on a “loneliness scale”. The twins also needed to assess the quality of their sleep over the last month, including the time required to fall asleep, total sleep duration, frequency of wakings per night, the presence or absence of sleepiness during the day.

Comparing the collected data, the researchers found that between loneliness and sleep quality are directly related. Single people the chance of insomnia, feelings of fatigue and problems with concentration during the day 24% higher than those who do not experience such feelings. This figure was obtained with these contributing to sleep problems and feelings of loneliness mental disorders as depression and anxiety disorder.

One of the possible reasons for poor sleep people can be no sense of security, according to the researchers. Data analysis showed that people who faced severe forms of violence, the Association of feelings of loneliness and insomnia almost 70% more than those who have not experienced violence.

The researchers suggest that the link between loneliness and poor sleep may be due to excessive biological reaction to stress, accompanied by the release of the “stress hormone” cortisol. Physiological arousal due to high levels of cortisol may play a role in sleep disturbance from experiencing the loneliness of people.

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