Hot MedFax

Are you lonely tonight? No, I'm not channeling Elvis.  But a new study says that if you are, that cold is going to feel worse. I suppose it makes sense.  Back when I was single, everything seemed harder because there was no soft place to fall.  Getting sick was the worst (which I often did, in many of my jobs where I traveled often, though I did come home from a vacation in the Bahamas with strep throat -- though it did lead to how I met my husband.  But that's a story for another time). Having a cold is bad enough, but having a cold if you’re lonely can actually feel worse, according to research published by the American Psychological Association, newswise.com reports. By finding lonely people and infecting them with the cold virus (how cruel ), researchers determined that those who had weaker social networks were more likely to report their cold symptoms were more severe than cold sufferers who didn’t feel lonely, according to the study published in ...

Can genes make you lonely ? Yes, if you're also prone to being neurotic and depressed, according to newswise.com. It turns out loneliness is a heritable trait, but no one gene is responsible.  And it may not be as bad as all that. Loneliness is linked to poor physical and mental health, and is an even more accurate predictor of early death than obesity, the web site reports. To better understand who is at risk, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine conducted the first genome-wide association study for loneliness — as a life-long trait, not a temporary state. They discovered that risk for feeling lonely is partially due to genetics, but environment plays a bigger role. Just as physical pain alerts us to potential tissue damage and motivates us to take care of our physical bodies, loneliness — triggered by a discrepancy between an individual’s preferred and actual social relations — is part of a biological warning system that has evolv...

Maybe it comes from having to pretty much fend for myself in childhood, then choosing to live by myself once I was out of the house.  But I've always known that being alone is a good thing. Now a new survey agrees. "C onsumers who forego hedonic activities alone are missing out on opportunities for rewarding experiences," esearchers wrote, according to Science Of Us, as presented at cnn.com. There's a big difference, of course, between aloneness and loneliness.   But I'm sure that's why I was drawn to the man who became my husband. We both needed alone time.  That's also the reason why, at times, we've had problems with our marriage.  And unfortunately, it seems we've passed it on to our son, who is a solitary soul, too. Alone time, to me, means being free to do what I want, without anyone else around.  I used to be afraid to be alone with my thoughts when I was younger -- they were primarily all about how I didn't measure up, in one w...

Does Facebook make you lonely?  For me, it does when I see all the parties I'm not invited to.  But beyond that, a new study has found that only the lonely use it the most. Not so surprising, but, according to newswise.com, a new study has found that, though social media was supposedly developed to bring people closer together, it may just be the people who are the most distanced from others who are drawn to it. There is a relationship between Facebook use and loneliness. The researchers concluded that relationship exists because the feeling of loneliness brings its users to Facebook, rather than because Facebook makes people lonely. The researchers chose to focus on Facebook because it is by far the most popular online social media site, with people using it to share personal information, meet people and develop friendships, according to the study. The use of Facebook – at home and at work – accounts for 54 percent of users’ time online globally and 62 percent...

Loneliness stinks.  But did you know it's as bad as obesity, high blood pressure, lack of exercise or smoking when it comes to illness and early death, Jane Brody reports today in The New York Times. Brody quotes a doctor who has studied this,  John T. Cacioppo , an award-winning psychologist at the University of Chicago, who says loneliness is so detrimental and harmful because it "undermines people’s ability to self-regulate."  In one study done in Chicago, people who scored high on a test to determine loneliness ate far more fatty foods than people whose score was lower. In another study, people made to feel disconnected from others ate many more cookies than those who felt more connected.  Cacioppo told Brody that lonely people will do whatever they can to make themselves feel better -- eat, smoke, drink, (in my case) shop, even have indiscriminate sex -- all to get rid of that clammy, awful feeling. Loneliness can also hurt us by increasing stress hormone...