When we think of longevity and success in life, the first things that come to our mind are eating better, exercising adequately and resting properly. In other words, lifestyle modifications or biohacks in diet, fitness, sleep, de-stressing etc. But a new massive study says something social might have an even greater impact on lifespan, healthspan and productivity.
Published this Monday in the noted medical journal ‘Nature – Human Behaviour’, this mammoth study-of-studies combined and analysed medical and behavioural data on over 2 million people across 90 previous studies from 1986 to 2022, to discover this secret, which is nothing but how social isolation and loneliness drives diseases and curtails longevity.
The study that was led by researchers at Harbin Medical University of China, found out that social isolation dramatically increases the risk of early death by all causes by 32%, while loneliness increases the risk of all-cause premature death by 14%. Secondly, the study found that both social isolation and loneliness are connected with two killer diseases, cancer and heart problems.
Social isolation increased the risk of someone dying prematurely of heart disease by 34% or of cancer by 24%. When it came to loneliness, the increased risk was of people dying early of cancer by 9%. And thirdly, the study found that social isolation and loneliness may not be just causative factors, but accelerating factors in those already with such diseases.
Before we delve into lasting solutions for such social conditions, it is important to realise that while they sound similar, social isolation and loneliness are quite different. Social isolation is basically about living alone, having no friends or only a limited number, and having minimal social contacts. As such, social isolation can be objectively measured and better remedied.
In contrast, loneliness is more of a subjective matter that concerns itself with deeply held character traits regarding how a person responds to real or imagined social isolation. Intense feelings of loneliness can even affect those who are not socially isolated, if they feel that they have no real friends or close family members even when they are living with friends or family. Loneliness therefore is more of a mental condition that is tougher to remedy.
Anyway, one thing is for sure. If social isolation and loneliness hold such sway on our health, happiness, longevity and productivity, it is high time that the health and wellness sector start delivering on social lifestyle modifications too. One of the best ways to do this is to be a part of any vibrant community. And speaking about communities for this objective, the best bet would be health and wellness communities themselves.
Virtual communities can do work wonders in this regard as one of the underlying factors driving social isolation and loneliness is social anxiety. Limoverse, the world’s first blockchain based health & wellness community and metaverse is one of the pioneering models out there to beat social isolation and loneliness. Within months of its launch, Limoverse’ Telegram channel has swelled to over 75,000 members worldwide, with hundreds of them simultaneously online in a 24X7 mode.
Limoverse is also the best place to meet wellness experts in different domains from the world over. There are hundreds of doctors, specialists, psychologists, counsellors, dieticians, fitness trainers, yoga gurus, alternative therapists, meditation experts, life coaches and other such experts, whose professional services can be availed by the users, for bettering their physical and mental health.
There are also powerful motivational programs in Limoverse that reward you for taking up healthy lifestyle modifications. For example, Limoverse HealthFi rewards you with Limo crypto tokens every time you exercise, which is measured automatically via wearables like smartwatches in the HealthFi Burn2Earn mode or by GPS in the HealthFi Move2Earn mode every time you go for a walk, jog or run.
(To join this amazing community today, visit Limoverse.io)