Loneliness may worsen your common cold
Researchers from Rice University studied 159 people aged 18-55, nearly 60% of them men. Participants were assessed for their psychological and physical health, given cold-inducing nasal drops and quarantined for five days.
After adjusting for demographics like gender and age, season, and isolation, the results showed those who felt lonely were no more likely to get a cold than those who were not. However those who were screened in advance for their level of loneliness and became infected -not all of the participants did -reported a greater severity of symptoms than those recorded in previous studies used as controls.
The use of social networks did not have any bearing on how sick they felt. “Previous research has shown that different psycho-social factors like feeling rejected or fe eling left out or not having strong social bonds do make people feel worse physically , mentally and emotionally ,” said Angie LeRoy of Rice University . “You can be in a crowded room and feel lonely.That perception is what seems to be important when it comes to these cold symptoms,” LeRoy said.
“The effect may be the same for those under other kinds of stress, anytime you have an illness, it is a stressor, and it would probably occur,” said Chris Fagundes.
