ST_OCTOBER_18

HEALTH & LIFESTYLE
Here's How Spending Time Alone
Improves Your Health
Far too often these days, many people end up feeling overwhelmed, and thanks to social media it sometimes feels like there's
no way to escape. However, it's extremely important to switch your phone off and get away from every other human being every
so often. Why? Keep reading and find out.
1. It Fights Stress
Being alone and feeling bored deactivates the areas in your brain
that promote heightened awareness, which can help lower stress
levels. Boredom helps calm your brain down and can help you
regulate your emotions a lot better.
2. It Helps You Unwind
Spending time alone is a brilliant way to recharge your mind
and body. A massive survey with 18,000 participants from 134
different countries found that 'spending time alone' was the way
most people felt the most relaxed. 'Reading' came in 2nd place
and 'being in nature' came 3rd.
3. It Wards Off Depression
It may seem counterintuitive, but spending time alone has actually
been found to tackle depression. Studies from the University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign revealed that the risk of depression
is significantly decreased for those who enjoy spending time
alone. Additionally, they also found that people who enjoy being
alone are far less likely to suffer from depression at any point in
their lives.
4. It Boosts Your Mental Strength
Plenty of people get nervous or antsy when they have to be
alone for a long time. However, we really should start to do it
more often, since studies have shown that forcing yourself to
sit through extended periods of solitude will fortify your mental
strength.
5. It Makes You More Compassionate
Harvard University found that being isolated can help you
build a stronger and more empathetic character. According to
Harvard researchers, sessions in solitude help people gain a
better understanding of the struggles and experiences of others,
which can help them become more sincerely compassionate
throughout their lives.
6. It Makes You More Creative
If you want to become more creative, then there's no better way
than spending time alone. The more bored you get, the more
creative you'll become, since the human mind will start coming up
with loads of different ways of keeping yourself entertained, and
since you're alone there will be nobody around to distract you.
7. It Creates Self-Reliance
If you always rely on others for assistance, opinions, and advice,
then you might end up becoming partially-dependent on others,
which won't allow you to become self-reliant. If you want to feel
a sense of independence, you'll need to start making decisions
on your own, which is something that spending time alone forces
you to do.
8. It Improves Concentration
Interruptions and distractions are an inevitable part of day-today
life, from the daily barrage of emails to friends and family
messaging you to see when you're free to meet up. Setting
aside some proper alone time will allow you to cut out most of
these disturbances, letting you get on with the task at hand.
You can also improve your memory and concentration by
means of these pressure points.
9. It Improves Your Memory
Spending time alone has also been found to boost your
memory. In fact, research from Harvard has shown that
people remember the key details of tasks they completed by
themselves in far more detail than those they completed with
the help of others.
10. It Strengthens Your Relationships
Being alone has been shown to help you gain a better
understanding of who you are. Such self-knowledge is
absolutely essential if you want any of your long-term
relationships to work out. After all, if you don't even understand
yourself, how can you expect to truly understand the needs
and desires of another person? ST
Credit: LinkedIn
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