1) In the last couple of weeks I’ve been rapidly investigating the links between #loneliness and poor health and wellbeing for my job at @HelenClarkFound, and how the pandemic might exacerbate these risks. I wrote a piece for @TheSpinoffTV yesterday which is a kind of primer.

2) In a couple of weeks I’ll publish a second on what an effective policy response might look like. Meanwhile, if that’s all TLDR, here are some of the salient points as I see them:

3) Loneliness is not the same as being alone. You can live alone not feel lonely because your needs for connection are met in other ways, or you can be constantly surrounded by other people and still feel lonely as hell.

4) Everyone will experience some loneliness during their life, but when it becomes constant and long-lasting, it can badly damage health and wellbeing. It can shorten life spans, suppress the immune system, mess with sleep and hormones and trigger depression and anxiety.

5) People report feeling lonely most often at moments of major life transition. There is a strong correlation between with age. Young people under 20 are most likely to feel lonely. It tails off during early adulthood and middle age, then picks up significantly for those over 75.

6) People experiencing poverty are both more likely to experience loneliness, due to the toxic stress and barriers it creates, and also feel the negative effects of it more keenly. Loneliness is also more pervasive for those with chronic physical and mental health conditions.

7) The pandemic could worsen an already significant challenge. It makes it impossible to do the thing that works best: more and better in person social interaction. It has also removed the incidental social contact from our daily lives, which many lonely people rely on.

8) Online solutions are great, but taxing on the brain, and often not available to those most at risk. On the plus side, we are more aware of the perils of isolation and many communities are virtually pulling together to support those at risk.

9) As we move out of lockdown, patterns of social interaction will have changed drastically, but there will be opportunities to focus on local support and community-building.

10) There is a role for good policy to reduce loneliness and if we get it right, significant health and wellbeing gains to be made. This will be the focus of my next piece.

11) Thanks for reading this far! Please check out the longer piece if you're interested, and follow my work at @HelenClarkFound and our patron @HelenClarkNZ. Thanks to @WspNz for their support of this work. https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/14-04-2020/the-perils-of-loneliness-in-the-time-of-covid-19/