A recent study published in the journal Health Psychology examines the impact of daily loneliness on physical health in middle age. Study: Loneliness dynamics and physical health symptomology among midlife adults in daily life. Image Credit: fizkes / Shutterstock.
com Midlife is often accompanied by several significant changes in one's life, such as children becoming adults and making independent decisions, adults becoming caregivers for older adults, and deteriorating health. These changes can lead to different social interactions, positions, and roles, which may increase feelings of loneliness at various times. Loneliness is a significant health concern, particularly among affected adults during midlife and old age.
Loneliness has been associated with an increased risk of depression, cardiovascular disease, and mortality. Most research on loneliness has studied this symptom at a single point in time. Comparatively, the current study's researchers considered loneliness dynamically to better understand how this trait functions at different time points.
The current study utilized daily diary records from 1,538 middle-aged adults, 61% of whom were women. All study participants were also interviewed over the telephone to assess their perception of daily loneliness, physical symptoms, and other daily experiences. The average daily loneliness, the difference in loneliness on successive days, and the degree of stable loneliness were also assessed.
These factors were compared with th.
