Quantcast
ZME Science
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
    Menu
    Natural Sciences
    Health
    History & Humanities
    Space & Astronomy
    Technology
    Culture
    Resources
    Natural Sciences

    Physics

    • Matter and Energy
    • Quantum Mechanics
    • Thermodynamics

    Chemistry

    • Periodic Table
    • Applied Chemistry
    • Materials
    • Physical Chemistry

    Biology

    • Anatomy
    • Biochemistry
    • Ecology
    • Genetics
    • Microbiology
    • Plants and Fungi

    Geology and Paleontology

    • Planet Earth
    • Earth Dynamics
    • Rocks and Minerals
    • Volcanoes
    • Dinosaurs
    • Fossils

    Animals

    • Mammals
    • Birds
    • Fish
    • Reptiles
    • Amphibians
    • Invertebrates
    • Pets
    • Conservation
    • Animals Facts

    Climate and Weather

    • Climate Change
    • Weather and Atmosphere

    Geography

    Mathematics

    Health
    • Drugs
    • Diseases and Conditions
    • Human Body
    • Mind and Brain
    • Food and Nutrition
    • Wellness
    History & Humanities
    • Anthropology
    • Archaeology
    • Economics
    • History
    • People
    • Sociology
    Space & Astronomy
    • The Solar System
    • The Sun
    • The Moon
    • Planets
    • Asteroids, Meteors and Comets
    • Astronomy
    • Astrophysics
    • Cosmology
    • Exoplanets and Alien Life
    • Spaceflight and Exploration
    Technology
    • Computer Science & IT
    • Engineering
    • Inventions
    • Sustainability
    • Renewable Energy
    • Green Living
    Culture
    • Culture and Society
    • Bizarre Stories
    • Lifestyle
    • Art and Music
    • Gaming
    • Books
    • Movies and Shows
    Resources
    • How To
    • Science Careers
    • Metascience
    • Fringe Science
    • Science Experiments
    • School and Study
    • Natural Sciences
    • Health
    • History and Humanities
    • Space & Astronomy
    • Culture
    • Technology
    • Resources
  • Reviews
  • More
    • Agriculture
    • Anthropology
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Electronics
    • Geology
    • History
    • Mathematics
    • Nanotechnology
    • Economics
    • Paleontology
    • Physics
    • Psychology
    • Robotics
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

Home → Science → News

Your lack of sleep might be the reason why you’re lonely

Get your good 8 hours of sleep, if you don't like being lonely.

Mihai Andrei by Mihai Andrei
August 16, 2018
in Mind & Brain, News, Psychology

A new study has found that sleep-deprived individuals are less likely to engage with others, and are more likely to feel lonely, exhibiting symptoms similar to social anxiety.

They say that no man is an island — and that seems to hold true. Social people tend to be happier and healthier, but quite often, social interactions tend to have a snowball effect: if you’re more social, you’re more likely to meet more people and be even more social. Meanwhile, a lack of social interaction can make you even more socially unattractive. In a new study, researchers have found that sleep — or rather, sleep deprivation — might be a key part of that effect.

“We humans are a social species. Yet sleep deprivation can turn us into social lepers,” said study senior author Matthew Walker, a UC Berkeley professor of psychology and neuroscience.

In the first part of the study, Walker and colleagues showed 18 sleep-deprived people video clips of strangers walking toward them, scanning their brains during this process. They found that the videos activated neural networks associated with social repulsion (these networks are typically triggered when someone invades our personal spaces). So, essentially, sleep loss makes us more likely to reject social interaction and maybe even feel threatened by it.

“The less sleep you get, the less you want to socially interact. In turn, other people perceive you as more socially repulsive, further increasing the grave social-isolation impact of sleep loss,” Walker added. “That vicious cycle may be a significant contributing factor to the public health crisis that is loneliness.”

Then, in the second part of the study, 1,000 observers were recruited through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk marketplace. They were shown videos of the sleep-deprived participants and asked to rate how lonely they seemed and how likely they would be to interact with them. Time and time again, sleep-deprived participants were seen as less socially desirable and lonelier. But this is where it gets even more interesting: this whole process seemed to be contagious.

When researchers asked the observers to rate their own levels of loneliness, they reported feeling significantly more alienated after watching only a 60-second clip of a lonely person.

The bottom line is that sleep deprivation can stir up a vicious cycle of social alienation while getting a good night’s sleep can do wonders for your social life.

“This all bodes well if you sleep the necessary seven to nine hours a night, but not so well if you continue to short-change your sleep,” Walker said. “On a positive note, just one night of good sleep makes you feel more outgoing and socially confident, and furthermore, will attract others to you,” Walker said.

Several nations are now seeing a ‘loneliness epidemic‘ as a threat to society’s well-being as more and more people seem to be suffering from chronic loneliness. The UK has even appointed a loneliness minister.

The study was published in Nature Communications.

Was this helpful?


Thanks for your feedback!

Related posts:
  1. Two-thirds of college students are struggling with lack of sleep, poor sleep quality
  2. Lack of sleep makes your brain start eating itself
  3. Stress, lack of sleep might be contributing to concussion-like symptoms
  4. People who excessively share on facebook are more lonely and depressed
  5. Can you die from lack of sleep?
Tags: lonelinesslonely

ADVERTISEMENT
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • Reviews
  • More
  • About Us

© 2007-2021 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
    • Natural Sciences
    • Health
    • History and Humanities
    • Space & Astronomy
    • Culture
    • Technology
    • Resources
  • Reviews
  • More
    • Agriculture
    • Anthropology
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Electronics
    • Geology
    • History
    • Mathematics
    • Nanotechnology
    • Economics
    • Paleontology
    • Physics
    • Psychology
    • Robotics
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2021 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

Don’t you want to get smarter every day?

YES, sign me up!

Over 35,000 subscribers can’t be wrong. Don’t worry, we never spam. By signing up you agree to our privacy policy.

✕
ZME Science News

FREE
VIEW