Loneliness is as bad for your health as smoking 15 cigarettes daily, scientists warned previously, based on many years of research. A recent study looked at how being lonely affects a person’s brain, which is most surprising.

Brains of lonely people are bigger

Loneliness is recognized as the major social problem of our times. In Great Britain, there is a ministry that deals with that problem, this is how much importance the government puts on this factor of human health.

Team of scientists from McGill University evaluated the size of brain and the density of neural connections in lonely individuals and compared results with the ones of people in relationships, and discovered a surprising pattern.

Brain regions responsible for plans and thoughts about the past were developed better in individuals without partners. Even the volume of grey matter in these regions was greater, the inner wiring of neural paths was stronger. These were the regions people use when planning things for the future or remembering something from the past. The scientists believe this could be because lonely people spend more time thinking about past events or dreaming about the future (self-reflection).

Loneliness is recognized as the major social problem of our times

The neural networks used when people think about past and future form the default paths in our brain.

Past research demonstrated that people without partners are more likely to develop degenerative conditions such as dementia, general cognitive decline.

Not having a partner was also linked to a higher chance of death from cancer in one of previous studies. Men who live alone die earlier than the ones who have a spouse or a permanent partner (there was no such correlation in women).

So, having a partner may help you live longer and remain healthy! Not only it’s more fun to have a loving spouse, but it is also good for longevity and maintaining vitality.

Maybe it’s time to upgrade your membership on Elenasmodels.com and find that loving and caring woman you always wished to have by your side?

Read also:

• If a man is single in his 40’s, will he be looked down upon in Russia?
• Minister for Loneliness appointed in UK
• Poor communication skills are dangerous to your health
• Happy people live longer, research suggests