Most people know what it’s like to belonely. Many of us have encountered life experiences that have left us yearningfor more human interaction. Whether it’s the death of a loved one, moving to anew city, or simply spending a weekend indoors, the truth is that lonelinessfeels terrible. After all, it makes sense that the human brain has evolved to become dependent on social interactions.Humans have an inherent desire to be with other people and feelings ofloneliness or isolation has several detrimental effects on a person’s well-being.
大多數(shù)人都知道何為孤獨(dú)。生活中的我們基本上都有過渴望與人交流溝通的時候：另一半的逝去，搬到新的城市，或者在家待了一周后，孤獨(dú)感很是讓人難受。人類大腦已經(jīng)逐步進(jìn)化得依賴于社交互動，這句話還是有道理的。人類與生俱來地想要和其他人相處，孤獨(dú)無助之感嚴(yán)重影響著人們的健康幸福。
Loneliness is a surprising epidemic thataffects millions of people. Studies have shown that about one-fifth of Americans report feelings of loneliness.It’s something that affects people of every race, age, and gender, though senior citizens seem to have it the worst.
孤獨(dú)就是個見怪不怪的傳染病，侵?jǐn)_著數(shù)以百萬的人。研究顯示大約有五分之一的美國人聲稱自己倍感孤獨(dú)。雖說老年人尤為嚴(yán)重，但孤獨(dú)的侵?jǐn)_不分種族、年齡和性別。
The loneliness epidemic is much worse thanone might initially think. It might be tempting to say that loneliness isnothing more than a feeling, but researchers have found that it can be deadlierthan obesity. (To be specific, lonely people have a 50% greater mortalityrate than non-lonely people whereas obese people have an 18% greater mortalityrate than non-obese people.)
孤獨(dú)原比之前我們想象的要嚴(yán)重的多。雖然說它不過是一種情感，但研究者發(fā)現(xiàn)它比肥胖癥更能讓人致命。（具體點(diǎn)說，與非孤獨(dú)癥患者相比，孤獨(dú)癥患者的死亡率高于50%，而肥胖癥患者的死亡率高于非肥胖癥患者的18%。）
One study from Jama International Medicine observedthe lifestyles and habits of about 45,000 people over a four year period. Allparticipants either had heart disease or were at risk for it. During the followup period, researchers recorded 4338 deaths and 2612 cardiovascular deaths. Inboth cases, lonely people were slightly more likely to die than non-lonelypeople.
Jama國際醫(yī)學(xué)對大約45,000人做了一項(xiàng)為期四年的研究，觀察這些人的生活方式和習(xí)慣。所有被觀察者皆患有心臟病或受其危害中。在這四年的跟蹤觀察中，研究人員標(biāo)出有4338人死亡且2612人死于心血管疾病。在這兩份死亡記錄中顯示，感到孤獨(dú)的人更容易死亡。
In a follow-up study, researchers looked at how lonelinessaffects people age 60 and up over a six year period. They found that lonelinesshas several adverse effects on the elderly population. First of all, seniorswho reported loneliness also reported high levels of functional decline.Functional decline was measured using four different factors: ability toperform daily activities such as dressing and bathing, ability to perform upperextremity tasks, ability to walk, and ability to climb stairs. Lonely seniorsreported increased difficulty in all four of these areas.
研究者進(jìn)而做了一項(xiàng)為期六年的研究，觀察孤獨(dú)癥對60歲的老年人的影響。他們發(fā)現(xiàn)幾方面的負(fù)面影響。首先是高水平功能下降。功能下降體現(xiàn)在四方面：日?；顒拥耐瓿赡芰?，比如：穿衣服和洗澡；上肢活動；走路；爬梯子。孤獨(dú)癥老人發(fā)現(xiàn)做這四方面的活動有困難。
A comparative analysis of lonely andnon-lonely seniors found that the lonely seniors also suffered from variousmedical conditions at a higher rate such as hypertension (3.1% difference),diabetes (2.4% difference), and heart conditions (5.3% difference). Notsurprisingly, isolated seniors were also 27.6% more likely to suffer from depression and8.6% more likely to die during the study period.
在孤獨(dú)老人和非孤獨(dú)老人的對比分析中發(fā)現(xiàn)，孤獨(dú)老人患有其他疾病的幾率更高：高血壓（3.1%）、糖尿病（2.4%）、心臟方面疾?。?.3%）。更為嚴(yán)重的是孤僻老人患有抑郁癥的幾率是非孤獨(dú)癥患者的27.6%，因此病死亡的幾率是8.6%。
A study from the University of Chicago also found thatloneliness can significantly affect someone’s blood pressure, particularly whenthey are older. Blood pressure differences between lonely and non-lonely peopleare less significant among people in their fifties, but the gap grows with age.In fact, loneliness can increase someone’s blood pressure by up to 30 points.Researcher Louise Hawkley noted that exercise and weight loss help reduce bloodpressure by the same amount that loneliness increases it. In other words, alonely person who exercises and diets is likely to have to same blood pressureas a non-lonely person who does neither of those things.
芝加哥大學(xué)的一項(xiàng)研究也發(fā)現(xiàn)了孤獨(dú)癥大大地影響著人的血壓，特別是老年人。孤獨(dú)癥老人和非孤獨(dú)癥老人在50歲左右的血壓并無顯著不同，但50歲之后區(qū)別就明顯了。事實(shí)上，孤獨(dú)癥能是一個人的血壓上升30點(diǎn)。研究人員Louise Hawkley注釋說，運(yùn)動和體重減少有助于降低孤獨(dú)癥引起的血壓升高點(diǎn)。換言之，一名患有孤獨(dú)癥的患者若是經(jīng)常運(yùn)動且飲食均衡，就很有可能與一名不做上述事情的非孤獨(dú)癥人的血壓保持一致。
Another major reason loneliness can bedeadly is the way that it affects your immune system. A study from psychologist Steve Cole and professionalsfrom UCLA School of Medicine, University of California at Davis, and Universityof Chicago found something rather alarming. Loneliness causes abnormalities inthe body’s monocytes, a white blood cell that helps defend the body againstinfection. Social isolation causes the monocytes to stay immature. Rather thanhelping the body fight infection, immature monocytes instead decreaseimmunization.
孤獨(dú)癥致命的另一個主要原因是它會影響人的免疫系統(tǒng)。來自心理學(xué)家Steve Cole和來自加州洛杉磯大學(xué)醫(yī)學(xué)院、加州戴維斯大學(xué)、芝加哥大學(xué)的專業(yè)人士的一項(xiàng)研究發(fā)現(xiàn)某些應(yīng)該警惕的事情。孤獨(dú)癥會引起人體單核細(xì)胞的異常，而像白細(xì)胞這樣的單核細(xì)胞是幫助人體抵制外界感染的。社會孤獨(dú)癥引發(fā)單核細(xì)胞無法正常工作，不成熟的單核細(xì)胞非但不能抵制感染，反而會降低人體免疫力。
John Cacioppo, a professor of psychology atthe University of Chicago, has been studying this subject in-depth for years.He says that part of the reason loneliness can be so deadly is because itcreates a feedback loop that reinforces negative thoughts and feelings.Cacioppo recommends that elderly people can get out of this vicious cycle bystaying in touch with friends and family and by attending family gatherings.
芝加哥大學(xué)的心理學(xué)教授John Cacippo已深入研究這個課題很多年了。他說，孤獨(dú)癥致命的部分原因是它產(chǎn)生了一種反饋回路，鞏固著人類的消極思想和感受。他建議老年人多和朋友相處、參加家庭聚會，擺脫惡性循環(huán)，
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