It has been widely acknowledged that humans are social beings and thrive in the company of others. We are aware of the emotional toll that isolation can take, which is why it has historically been utilized as a form of punishment in prisons. However, recent research suggests that social isolation can have a significant impact on our energy levels, comparable to the effects of fasting.
A study conducted by researchers from the University of Vienna revealed that spending eight hours in isolation can have detrimental effects on a person’s energy levels. This extended period without social interaction leads to a decrease in energy similar to the decrease experienced after fasting for eight hours.
The findings of this research indicate that social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic may have had unexpected consequences on people’s energy levels.
The study, which involved both laboratory experiments and observations during COVID-19 quarantine periods, also suggests that individual reactions to social isolation may be influenced by social personality traits.
According to SciTechDaily, just as prolonged periods without food trigger hunger, a lack of social interaction can generate a craving for social connections in the brain, prompting us to seek social contact once again.
This aligns with the theory of “social homeostasis,” which proposes that there is a mechanism in place to regulate our need for social interaction.
While our understanding of the psychological responses to social isolation is still limited, the researchers propose that decreased energy may be a part of our homeostatic response to the absence of social contact and could potentially precede more severe effects of long-term social isolation.
The study involved 30 female volunteers who experienced eight hours of isolation without social contact, without food, or with both social contact and food on separate occasions. Throughout the day, the participants reported their stress, mood, and fatigue levels multiple times, while scientists recorded physiological stress responses such as heart rate and cortisol levels.
The results were compared with data collected during the lockdown in Austria and Italy in the spring of 2020, involving 87 participants who experienced at least an eight-hour period of isolation. Their stress and behavioral effects were assessed multiple times a day for seven days.
The laboratory study led by Giorgia Silani from the University of Vienna demonstrated similarities between social isolation and food deprivation, both leading to decreased energy and increased fatigue.
The authors suggest that decreased energy may be an adaptive response to a lack of social contact, which, over time, can become maladaptive and contribute to the more detrimental effects of long-term social isolation.
Ana Stijovic and Paul Forbes, the first authors of the study, noted, “In the lab study, we found striking similarities between social isolation and food deprivation. Both states induced lowered energy and heightened fatigue, which is surprising given that food deprivation literally makes us lose energy, while social isolation would not.”
Giorgia Silani further explained, “It is well-known that long-term loneliness and fatigue are related, but we know little about the immediate mechanisms that underlie this link. The fact that we see this effect even after a short period of social isolation suggests that low energy could be a ‘social homeostatic’ adaptive response, which in the long run can become maladaptive.”
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