Lonely? Charity work will help you
TWO hours of voluntary work a week could be enough to solve Britain’s loneliness epidemic, according to a study.
Putting in 100 hours a year or more as a volunteer reduced feelings of loneliness in recently widowed adults to the same levels as people who had not lost a loved one.
The US study, led by sociology professor Dr Ben Lennox Kail of Georgia State University, followed 6,000 over-50s over eight years.
It found those who became widowed, not surprisingly, suffered significantly higher levels of loneliness.
Meaningful
Dr Kail told The Journal of Gerontology: “Among people who became widowed, if they started volunteering 100 hours per year, about two hours per week, this reduced loneliness to an extent that they almost look exactly like those people who never became widowed at all.”
The findings chime with a recent Office for National Statistics report which revealed soaring levels of loneliness in the UK.
Feeling disconnected from the community was a factor for both young and old, something that volunteering would help.
Dr Kail explained: “When you experience loneliness it is because of some kind of loss.
“Even if you’re robustly integrated, that loss is meaningful to you.
“What you need to do is begin something new.
“It’s the new social integration that can make up for loss.” Lee Grant and Summer’s mum Cara Blackie, inset, yesterday