Alone Time is Good For Us

Solitude has developed a poor reputation as being something negative, but a trio of researchers are showing just how wonderful solitude can be

Hiya!

I saw a meme floating around online a while back saying, “People always tell introverts to be more talkative and leave their comfort zones, yet no one tells extroverts to be quiet and make the zone more comfortable.” While a bit blunt, the quote speaks some Truth.

Society often encourages us to be social while focusing on the negative attributes of solitude. As a result, people who spend time alone are frequently painted as loners, losers, just plain strange, or even dangerous. But this message is, thankfully, changing thanks to recent and expansive research studying the positives of alone time. So settle in because there’s lots to discuss.

Researching Solitude

The negative aspects of feeling alone have inspired writers, artists, intellectuals, and researchers for centuries. Both physical isolation, such as in prisons or hospitals, and social isolation are well-documented to be harmful to our emotional and physical health. However, researchers are shifting their focus away from the more extreme circumstances.

Heather Hanson, a science communications expert, and solitude researchers Netta Weinstein and Thuy-vy T. Nguyen teamed up to analyze research related to the benefits solitude has to offer. Their collaboration resulted in a book published in April 2024 titled Solitude, The Science and Power of Being Alone, which is also the most extensive study of its kind.

In an article the authors wrote for Cambridge University about their research, they say that in addition to their own studies and reviewing previous research, they conducted an online survey for people in the UK between 13 and 85 years old, in which thousands of people shared their “solitude stories.” These reports helped the researchers work out who finds pleasure in solitude and why.

The trio explains in the Cambridge article that they chose to study solitude to “match perception with reality.” They write:

Years ago, there wasn’t much recognition in scientific literature of everyday solitude, those moments that exist in everyone’s lives whether spending whole days alone or just appreciating a quiet moment every now and then. We wanted to know what happens in those ordinary moments alone and how do we make them our own? 

They point out that even though humans are social creatures, spending at least some time alone is inevitable, and research shows that it increases as we age. A 2022 survey found we’re also living alone more than ever. The survey revealed that in 17 of the 75 countries studied, solo households make up over 25 percent, with the highest percentages found in Europe and The United States.

In a feature article published in New Scientist about her, Nguyen’s, and Weinstein’s research, Heather Hansen, also an award-winning journalist, writes:

“We learned that everyone has a unique definition of what solitude looks like in their lives, but there are commonalities across age, ethnicity and gender.”

Society has long encouraged us to socialize and discouraged spending time alone, but the trio of researchers found that more people seem to be spending more time away from the crowd “and even seem to crave it.”

Solitude vs. Loneliness