Loneliness ‘could make it difficult’ to sleep restfully

Loneliness may cause one to feel less safe, unable to rest, and rob one of sleep, according to a study conducted by British researchers.

In the study, more than 2,200 teenagers provided information about their loneliness levels and sleeping patterns.

25 percent and 30 percent of them said they felt lonely sometimes, and another 5 percent said they frequently felt lonely.

Lonelier people were found to be 24 percent more likely to feel tired and have difficulty concentrating during the day, according to the King’s College London researchers.

“Diminished sleep quality is one of the many ways in which loneliness gets under the skin, and our findings underscore the importance of early therapeutic approaches to target the negative thoughts and perceptions that can make loneliness a vicious cycle,” said study author Louise Arseneault.

“Many of the young people in our study are currently at university, living away from home for the first time, which can compound feelings of loneliness.

“It is therefore important that they receive appropriate support to address these feelings before they turn into severe mental health problems.”

Timothy Matthews, the study’s co-author, said: “Past exposure to violence exacerbated the association between loneliness and poor sleep, which is consistent with the suggestion that sleep problems in lonely individuals are related to feeling unsafe.

“This makes sense as sleep is a state in which it is impossible to be vigilant for one’s safety, so feeling isolated from others could make it more difficult to sleep restfully, and even more so for individuals who have been exposed to violence in the past.

The study was published recently in the journal, Psychological Medicine.