Loneliness / social isolation
Toxins · Lifestyle
Critical priority
What this is
Holt-Lunstad 2010 meta-analysis found social isolation mortality effect comparable to smoking. US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy 2023 advisory formally declared loneliness an epidemic. Often missing from biohacker protocols despite outsized effect. Social connection may be the cheapest longevity intervention.
Mechanism
Lack of meaningful social connection; increased inflammation (CRP, IL-6), elevated cortisol, reduced immune function; mortality effect comparable to smoking 15 cigarettes/day (Holt-Lunstad 2010, 2015)
Dose & route
Maintain/build friendships; group activities; volunteering; intergenerational contact; limit loneliness-inducing screen substitutes
Citations
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20668659/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25910392/
- https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf
Links go to the source. If a link is dead or you want something re-checked, let me know.
This is an independent synthesis of published research by a non-clinician. Scores are opinions supported by citations, not prescriptions. See the full disclaimer and methodology for how this score was produced and what it does and doesn't mean.