Frank Filocomo writes for National Review Online about new scientific research about loneliness.

Loneliness is a killer. 

Not to be conflated with social isolation — the objective state of being entirely devoid of human contact — loneliness is the dreaded perception of being alone, with no one by your side. No one to conversate with, laugh with, or help you overcome life’s struggles. …

… But, apart from being an inexplicably distressing feeling, loneliness has physiological consequences, too. 

A new study published in Nature Mental Health found that individuals who experience loneliness are more at risk of developing all-cause dementia and cognitive impairment. 

The study — of, might I add, unusual breadth, with data from over 600,000 people — found that “feeling lonely increased risk for dementia by 31 percent.” Additionally, loneliness increased the risk for cognitive impairment by 15 percent. 

These data should shock you. 

Martina Luchetti, one of the study’s authors, told Meeri Kim in an interview for the Washington Post that “loneliness is associated with multiple cognitive outcomes besides the endpoint of dementia.”

Many, however, have articulated ways in which individuals can ameliorate their feelings of loneliness. In that same Washington Post article, Kim interviewed NYU Langone neurologist Joel Salinas, who remarked that “we may not yet have a cure for Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia, but we do have a cure for loneliness.”

Salinas, among other things, recommends “preserving what you have.” In other words, it means reaching out to people who are already in your life, albeit only peripherally. We all have family and friends with whom we have, in a way, abandoned or lost connection. It is, undoubtedly, easier to rekindle dormant relationships than to forge new ones from the ground up. This could be as simple as shooting an old friend a text message saying, “Hey man, I’ve been thinking about you. We should catch up soon. When are you free?” This isn’t hard and is, frankly, something I should do more myself.