Most people know what it’s like to belonely. Many of us have encountered life experiences that have left us yearningfor more human interaction. Whether it’s the death of a loved one, moving to anew city, or simply spending a weekend indoors, the truth is that lonelinessfeels terrible. After all, it makes sense that the human brain has evolved to become dependent on social interactions.Humans have an inherent desire to be with other people and feelings ofloneliness or isolation has several detrimental effects on a person’s well-being.
大多数人都知道何为孤独。生活中的我们基本上都有过渴望与人交流沟通的时候：另一半的逝去，搬到新的城市，或者在家待了一周后，孤独感很是让人难受。人类大脑已经逐步进化得依赖于社交互动，这句话还是有道理的。人类与生俱来地想要和其他人相处，孤独无助之感严重影响着人们的健康幸福。
Loneliness is a surprising epidemic thataffects millions of people. Studies have shown that about one-fifth of Americans report feelings of loneliness.It’s something that affects people of every race, age, and gender, though senior citizens seem to have it the worst.
孤独就是个见怪不怪的传染病，侵扰着数以百万的人。研究显示大约有五分之一的美国人声称自己倍感孤独。虽说老年人尤为严重，但孤独的侵扰不分种族、年龄和性别。
The loneliness epidemic is much worse thanone might initially think. It might be tempting to say that loneliness isnothing more than a feeling, but researchers have found that it can be deadlierthan obesity. (To be specific, lonely people have a 50% greater mortalityrate than non-lonely people whereas obese people have an 18% greater mortalityrate than non-obese people.)
孤独原比之前我们想象的要严重的多。虽然说它不过是一种情感，但研究者发现它比肥胖症更能让人致命。（具体点说，与非孤独症患者相比，孤独症患者的死亡率高于50%，而肥胖症患者的死亡率高于非肥胖症患者的18%。）
One study from Jama International Medicine observedthe lifestyles and habits of about 45,000 people over a four year period. Allparticipants either had heart disease or were at risk for it. During the followup period, researchers recorded 4338 deaths and 2612 cardiovascular deaths. Inboth cases, lonely people were slightly more likely to die than non-lonelypeople.
Jama国际医学对大约45,000人做了一项为期四年的研究，观察这些人的生活方式和习惯。所有被观察者皆患有心脏病或受其危害中。在这四年的跟踪观察中，研究人员标出有4338人死亡且2612人死于心血管疾病。在这两份死亡记录中显示，感到孤独的人更容易死亡。
In a follow-up study, researchers looked at how lonelinessaffects people age 60 and up over a six year period. They found that lonelinesshas several adverse effects on the elderly population. First of all, seniorswho reported loneliness also reported high levels of functional decline.Functional decline was measured using four different factors: ability toperform daily activities such as dressing and bathing, ability to perform upperextremity tasks, ability to walk, and ability to climb stairs. Lonely seniorsreported increased difficulty in all four of these areas.
研究者进而做了一项为期六年的研究，观察孤独症对60岁的老年人的影响。他们发现几方面的负面影响。首先是高水平功能下降。功能下降体现在四方面：日常活动的完成能力，比如：穿衣服和洗澡；上肢活动；走路；爬梯子。孤独症老人发现做这四方面的活动有困难。
A comparative analysis of lonely andnon-lonely seniors found that the lonely seniors also suffered from variousmedical conditions at a higher rate such as hypertension (3.1% difference),diabetes (2.4% difference), and heart conditions (5.3% difference). Notsurprisingly, isolated seniors were also 27.6% more likely to suffer from depression and8.6% more likely to die during the study period.
在孤独老人和非孤独老人的对比分析中发现，孤独老人患有其他疾病的几率更高：高血压（3.1%）、糖尿病（2.4%）、心脏方面疾病（5.3%）。更为严重的是孤僻老人患有抑郁症的几率是非孤独症患者的27.6%，因此病死亡的几率是8.6%。
A study from the University of Chicago also found thatloneliness can significantly affect someone’s blood pressure, particularly whenthey are older. Blood pressure differences between lonely and non-lonely peopleare less significant among people in their fifties, but the gap grows with age.In fact, loneliness can increase someone’s blood pressure by up to 30 points.Researcher Louise Hawkley noted that exercise and weight loss help reduce bloodpressure by the same amount that loneliness increases it. In other words, alonely person who exercises and diets is likely to have to same blood pressureas a non-lonely person who does neither of those things.
芝加哥大学的一项研究也发现了孤独症大大地影响着人的血压，特别是老年人。孤独症老人和非孤独症老人在50岁左右的血压并无显著不同，但50岁之后区别就明显了。事实上，孤独症能是一个人的血压上升30点。研究人员Louise Hawkley注释说，运动和体重减少有助于降低孤独症引起的血压升高点。换言之，一名患有孤独症的患者若是经常运动且饮食均衡，就很有可能与一名不做上述事情的非孤独症人的血压保持一致。
Another major reason loneliness can bedeadly is the way that it affects your immune system. A study from psychologist Steve Cole and professionalsfrom UCLA School of Medicine, University of California at Davis, and Universityof Chicago found something rather alarming. Loneliness causes abnormalities inthe body’s monocytes, a white blood cell that helps defend the body againstinfection. Social isolation causes the monocytes to stay immature. Rather thanhelping the body fight infection, immature monocytes instead decreaseimmunization.
孤独症致命的另一个主要原因是它会影响人的免疫系统。来自心理学家Steve Cole和来自加州洛杉矶大学医学院、加州戴维斯大学、芝加哥大学的专业人士的一项研究发现某些应该警惕的事情。孤独症会引起人体单核细胞的异常，而像白细胞这样的单核细胞是帮助人体抵制外界感染的。社会孤独症引发单核细胞无法正常工作，不成熟的单核细胞非但不能抵制感染，反而会降低人体免疫力。
John Cacioppo, a professor of psychology atthe University of Chicago, has been studying this subject in-depth for years.He says that part of the reason loneliness can be so deadly is because itcreates a feedback loop that reinforces negative thoughts and feelings.Cacioppo recommends that elderly people can get out of this vicious cycle bystaying in touch with friends and family and by attending family gatherings.
芝加哥大学的心理学教授John Cacippo已深入研究这个课题很多年了。他说，孤独症致命的部分原因是它产生了一种反馈回路，巩固着人类的消极思想和感受。他建议老年人多和朋友相处、参加家庭聚会，摆脱恶性循环，
联系客服
