Is loneliness bad for your health?

Yes. Long-term loneliness is a documented health risk. Large research reviews link loneliness and social isolation to a higher risk of heart disease, depression, dementia and early death. The good news is that there's often something you can do about it, and even small steps count.

Loneliness isn't the same as being alone. You can live alone and be perfectly happy, and you can feel lonely in a crowded room. Loneliness is the feeling of having less contact with other people than you need. And that feeling can have measurable effects on the body.

What the research shows

A large 2025 review pooled 86 studies with more than 760,000 participants. It found that loneliness was linked to 14 percent higher mortality, and social isolation to 35 percent higher mortality. The WHO, which published a major report on social connection in 2025, links loneliness to a doubled risk of depression, as well as a higher risk of stroke, heart disease and cognitive decline. The Lancet Commission has also put social isolation on its list of risk factors for dementia.

These numbers are averages across large populations, not a verdict on any one person. But they make one thing clear: loneliness is a real health risk, and it deserves to be taken seriously.

How common is it?

In the US, more than one in four adults aged 65 to 80 say they sometimes or often lack companionship, according to a 2024 study in JAMA. In the UK, Age UK estimates that 7 percent of people 65 and older, around 940,000 people, are often lonely. The numbers vary depending on how loneliness is measured. The risk usually rises after losing a spouse, during an illness, or when hearing loss or limited mobility starts getting in the way of seeing people.

What you can do

Loneliness can feel like something you're stuck with, but there's often something you can do:

• Say it out loud. That can be the hardest step. Tell your doctor, your children or a friend. Loneliness is as fair a thing to bring up as bad knees.
• Use what's out there. In the US, the Friendship Line (888-670-1360) is a free line for people 60 and older, open around the clock, and the Eldercare Locator (1-800-677-1116) can point you to activities and services near you. In the UK, The Silver Line (0800 4 70 80 90) is free and open day and night, and many local Age UK branches offer befriending, where a volunteer visits you at home.
• One regular date beats ten good intentions. A weekly coffee, a standing phone call with a grandchild, or an activity you go to regularly.
• A phone call counts too. In a US study of people receiving Meals on Wheels, four weeks of friendly phone calls from trained volunteers reduced loneliness, depression and anxiety. What matters is the contact, not the technology.

And on the slow stretches of the day when there's no one to talk to, a conversation with an AI assistant can be an addition to human contact, never a replacement. For some people, it can even make it easier to get back into the habit of talking.

This is general information, not medical advice. Every situation is different, so talk to a doctor about yours.