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Loneliness has been linked to many physical and mental health problems.<ref>Multiple references:
*Gammon, Katherine (March 2, 2012). [http://www.livescience.com/18800-loneliness-health-problems.html "Why loneliness can be deadly"]. Live Science website.
*Booth, Robert (October 12, 2014). "Number of severely lonely men over 50 set to rise to 1m in 15 years", ''The Guardian''.</ref> See also: [[Atheism and health]]
According to Livescience.com:
{{cquote|Loneliness can send a person down a path toward bad health, and even more intense loneliness, studies have shown. But while some have assumed the culprit was a dearth of others to remind a person to take care of himself or herself, new research suggests there's a direct biological link between being lonely and ill health.
Loneliness can set into a motion a barrage of negative impacts inside the human body...
John Cacioppo, a University of Chicago social psychologist who studies the biological effects of loneliness, ...found, for instance, loneliness is tied to hardening of the arteries (which leads to high blood pressure), inflammation in the body, and even problems with learning and memory. Even fruit flies that are isolated have worse health and die sooner than those that interact with others, showing that social engagement may be hard-wired, Cacioppo said...
In addition, loneliness raises levels of the circulating stress hormone cortisol and blood pressure, with one study showing that social isolation can push blood pressure up into the danger zone for heart attacks and strokes.<ref>[http://www.livescience.com/18800-loneliness-health-problems.html
Why Loneliness Can Be Deadly] by Katherine Harmon, Live Science Contributor, March 02, 2012 02:24pm ET</ref>}}
== Atheism and loneliness ==
Compared to religious cultures where an extended family and a sense of community often exists, secular countries [[Secular countries and loneliness|are often lonelier societies]]. In addition, numerous studies and other data indicate that atheists often have lower [[emotional intelligence]] and lower social skills (see: [[Atheism and emotional/intrapersonal intelligence|Atheism and emotional intelligence]] and [[Atheism and interpersonal intelligence|Atheism and social skills]]). The [[atheist activist]] [[Seth Andrews]] candidly admitted: "Religion does community and activism and it does it really well."<ref>[http://examiningatheism.blogspot.com/2017/11/atheism-loneliness-and-depression.html Atheism, loneliness and depression], [[Examining Atheism]]</ref>
== See also ==
*[[Friendship]]