New research suggests that there is a direct biological link between being lonely and ill health, the LiveScience website reported.

John Cacioppo of University of Chicago has found that loneliness is tied to hardening of the arteries, inflammation in the body, and even problems with learning and memory.

In one study, Cacioppo and Steve Cole of the University of California, Los Angeles, (UCLA) observed a change in the immune system of socially isolated people.

"What we see is a consistent pattern where it looks like human immune cells are programmed with a defensive strategy that gets activated in lonely people," Cole said. The result is that a lonely person's body has let its defenses down to viral and other invaders.

In addition, loneliness can destroy the quality of sleep, so that a person's sleep is less restorative, both physically and psychologically.

(China.org.cn March 11, 2012)

據“熱點科學”網報道，一項新研究顯示，孤獨和不良的健康之間存在直接的生理聯系。

來自芝加哥大學的約翰·卡喬波發現，孤獨可引起動脈硬化、身體發炎，甚至產生學習和記憶問題。

在一項研究中，卡喬波和加利福尼亞大學洛杉磯分校的史蒂夫·科爾觀察到社會孤立人士免疫系統產生的變化。

科爾說：“我們觀察到一種穩定的特征：貌似孤獨人士的人體免疫細胞受控于一種激活的防御策略。”這導致孤獨人士身體降低了對病毒性等入侵物的防御。

另外，孤獨還可降低睡眠質量，導致身心恢復功能減弱。