As Utah ranks above the national average by U.S. Census Bureau on loneliness, BYU’s Social Connection & Health Lab recommended increased social connection to combat negative health effects from loneliness.
In May 2023, the U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy released the U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on the Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community. In the advisory, Murthy called attention to a new epidemic affecting Americans: an epidemic of loneliness.
“Loneliness and isolation represent profound threats to our health and well-being,” Murthy said. “But we have the power to respond. We can rise to meet this moment together.”
According to a September 2024 Household Pulse Survey by the U.S. Census Bureau, 40.6 percent of adult Americans said “they sometimes, usually, or always feel lonely.”
In the same study, Utah scored above the national average, with 46.2 percent of adult residents reporting the same. Utah ranked the 3rd highest state under Oregon and Alaska.
“Loneliness is far more than just a bad feeling — it harms both individual and societal health,” Murthy said. “It is associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, stroke, depression, anxiety, and premature death.”
Julianne Holt-Lunstad is a leading scholar and researcher on social connection and its effects on mental and physical health. According to her website, Holt-Lunstad is a professor of psychology and neuroscience at BYU and director of the Social Connection & Health Lab.
In her expert testimony before the 2017 US Senate Aging Committee, Holt-Lunstad shared her research that found that social connections have an effect on mortality risk, exceeding other risk factors such as smoking 15 cigarettes per day.
Katy Sine, a second year Ph.D. student in Holt-Lunstad’s research lab, said that while older adults used to be considered an at-risk population, the last several years have seen a shift where young adults, specifically college-age adults, are the most vulnerable for feelings of loneliness and social isolation.
“The reality is loneliness is a biological marker, it's a natural indicator that has evolved to help us know when we need to connect,” Sine said. “If we ignore that indicator, or we adapt to that indicator then we experience chronic levels of loneliness and then the chronic effects of loneliness can be damaging to our health.”
There is a way to prevent loneliness and its damage to our health, Sine said, and that is increased social connection.
"This doesn’t mean you have to be a social butterfly or you always have to be the one to talk to the person on the plane next to you," Sine said. "But those things are not just good for our mental health and our state of mind, but also healthy for our physical bodies."
For Austin Hunsinger, who recently moved to Utah, seeking out positive social connections has helped him in his existing relationships and helped him feel less lonely.
“I put myself around people I knew truly cared about me and also held me accountable,” Austin Hunsinger said. “Because of this, I now have more purposeful and healthier relationships, and times where I feel alone are few and far between.”
Sine recommended a simple way to cultivate greater social connections.
"Being truly open to new experiences," Sine said, "and continuing to cultivate connections within your community and reaching out to other people.”
In his advisory on social connection, Murthy called for individuals and the community as a whole to work together to destigmatize loneliness.
"The keys to human connection are simple but extraordinarily powerful," Murthy said. "Each of us can start now, in our own lives, by strengthening our connections and relationships."