Measuring the impact of loneliness and social isolation on our brains
New research shows the negative, yet reversible, impact of spending time in isolated, confined, extreme environments—such as an Antarctic research station.
For many, the past five years have seen loneliness creep into their lives like a slow, thick fog.
As surgeon general, Vivek Murthy, MD, declared loneliness an epidemic, comparing its effects to smoking nearly a pack of cigarettes every day. A combination of COVID stay-at-home orders, lives spent largely on screens, and the evolution of remote work has frayed our social fabric in new ways, with a recent Gallup poll reporting that as many as 52 million Americans continue to struggle with loneliness.
What is loneliness doing to us? One answer may be sourced from Antarctica.
New research shows the negative, yet reversible, impact of spending time in isolated, confined and extreme environments—such as an Antarctic research station. Mathias Basner, MD, PhD, a professor of Sleep and Chronobiology in Psychiatry and David R Roalf, PhD, a research assistant professor of Behavioral Neuroscience in Psychiatry, both of the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, published their findings in the journal npj Microgravity.
This is your brain on loneliness
Basner and Roalf measured if exposure to these environments led to structural changes in the brain, and if so, how they may be related to cognitive performance and sleep. Their study included individuals who “wintered over” in Antarctica—confined to a research station with a small crew in a hostile environment with no rescue opportunity during the Antarctic winter, a time when there is little to no daylight.
“We observed that the cell volume in certain areas of the brain was lower immediately after the winter compared to scans taken before the winter, and that most of these changes were reversible six months after the crew returned from Antartica. We also found that better sleep during the ‘winter over’ was protective against brain volume loss,” Basner said.
Basner is no stranger to some of these questions, having also studied the impact of prolonged spaceflight on the brain.
His team’s study of Scott Kelly’s 340-day International Space Station mission showed that adaptations made by the brain to living in the weightless spacecraft environment for prolonged periods of time take a toll on readjusting to Earth’s gravity environment.
“Similar, albeit not identical, changes have been observed in astronauts confined for prolonged times to spacecrafts. However, these changes are primarily attributed to weightlessness,” Roalf said. “Our results suggest that the stress of living in an isolated, confined, and extreme environment suffices to relevantly affect brain structure, and that it likely contributes relevantly to the volume loss observed in astronauts.”
In the newly published Antarctic study, two separate crews wintered over at the French-Italian Concordia station, commonly referred to as the “most remote station on Earth,” with all crew undergoing medical and psychological screening prior to selection. A total of 25 individual crewmembers arrived at and departed from Concordia station during the Austral summer and stayed an average of 12.7 months. While the threat to life component is somewhat unique for an Antarctic research station, confinement and isolation are regularly experienced by large parts of the population.
Dealing with loneliness in regular life
At least for now, few of us rocket into space or work in an Antarctic research station—but loneliness persists. From a clinical perspective, combining loneliness with the act of social isolation is what can raise alarms.
“Loneliness is a feeling that people can have even when others are present. It reflects a subjective state of being and feeling, but not everyone who is socially isolated, or lonely, is depressed or anxious,” said Nora Brier, PsyD, an assistant professor of clinical Psychiatry and Director of Postdoctoral Training at the Center for Treatment and Study of Anxiety at Penn Medicine.
“When people are socially isolated and lonely in combination, the real risks to mental health can present themselves.”
Brier described what psychologists see as patterns of social isolation, specifically with anxiety disorders like OCD, agoraphobia, or panic disorder.
“Folks may feel very anxious about something in the environment and may stay home or skip a party to try to help themselves feel better,” she said. “The opposite often happens, though, and it may lead to increased loneliness and more isolation.”
Brier added that a variety of potential causes are likely to have deepened this feeling for many, including rise of remote work and loss of loose connections, such as seeing a barista on your morning commute or your regular bus driver. These were somewhat foretold in a 1973 paper outlining “weak ties” and their impact on our well-being.
Finding answers on (and above) Earth
While it’s anyone’s guess as to how the impacts of our evolving relationships will unfurl, Basner and his team will continue to seek answers near home, at the ends of the Earth, and beyond.
“We are currently investigating astronauts who stay for different amounts of time on the International Space Station to see how both structure and wiring of the brain change,” Basner said. “The structural changes observed in astronaut brains on six-month missions are concerning, especially since not all of them seem fully reversible. We want to make sure that we can safely send astronauts on a mission to Mars that could take up to three years.”
Of course, Brier added that feeling loneliness is also totally normal.
“It's a part of life, and we all need to make peace that we will feel lonely,” she said. “The problem with it is that it can lead, in some cases, to isolation and an increased risk of worsening depression or anxiety.
Ideally, people who recognize and acknowledge when they feel lonely, let the feeling "run its course" and then try to make a plan to do something with another person, such as taking a trip.
Just maybe not to Antarctica.