Simply put, solitude is described as “the state or condition of being alone.” Thuy B NguyenResearcher at Durham University in England who studies loneliness. Alone time can be voluntary or involuntary. It can be pleasant or unpleasant. It all depends.
So solitude is not necessarily a bad thing, but is it good? Nguyen is the principal investigator. solitude labIn , she and her team work to solve these kinds of mysteries. They found that solitude offers at least two important benefits.
This provides ‘emotion regulation’, helping to suppress high arousal emotions. It may also perform another, less immediate and perhaps even more important function. “Autonomy can be fostered by allowing individuals to engage with their environment in the way and at the pace that best suits them,” says Nguyen.
study solitude
And that last part is essential to beneficial solitude. It must be a matter of choice. In 2023 studyNguyen and colleagues looked at the benefits and harms of solitude and explored the ideal balance between solitude and socialization.
They found that when people spend time alone because they want to (if they were “selective” in solitude, as the researchers put it), they feel the same satisfaction they would have if they were not alone.
In our hyper-connected age, it can be difficult to choose solitude. And it turns out that the difference between solitude and connection is a little more complicated than we thought.
Read more: What happens when humans become extremely isolated?
Rethinking What It Means to Be Alone
morgan rossResearchers at Oregon State University, who study how people balance connection and disconnection in their daily lives, asked us to rethink solitude to take a closer look at what it means to be alone.
“We are trying to come up with a definition of solitude that is more appropriate for the current media environment,” he explains. He calls this new concept ‘social loneliness’ – solitude with the potential for communication.
at paper Published last December, Ross and colleagues described what they call “the shadow of solitude.” In this variety of solitude, he explains, you do not interact with other people, either in person or virtually.
But the different shades along the spectrum of solitude extend from the intense (alone in a cabin in the woods and no cell phone) to being alone but having some kind of connection with other people (spending a solitary afternoon watching a cooking video or reading a blog post). It works. ).
“You’re still engaging with other people’s thoughts, whether they’re written in a book or posted on your social media feeds,” says Ross. Solitude becomes more comfortable knowing there is a network of people available when you’re ready to connect, he adds. “It is a temporary break from social relationships. “You can talk to people before or you can talk to people later, but at that moment you’re only focused on the benefits of being alone.”
Nor does solitude need to be prolonged to be beneficial. You don’t have to spend a week in a cabin in the woods to reap the benefits of solitude. In effect, you can indulge yourself in a “mini-cabin.” Whether it’s taking a walk alone in the park or spending a few minutes on the patio with a book and a cup of tea, you can do it all with your phone in your pocket if you want. You can reach out to friends and loved ones if you need to.
“There are benefits to these mild experiences of solitude,” says Ross. And you probably have more than you think. “A few minutes in the shower or a few minutes commuting to work are experiences that many people don’t think of as solitude, but from which they can potentially benefit,” says Ross.
How to make the most of solitude
Ross and Nguyen agree that making the most of solitude requires intention and choice. Quite simply, and perhaps clearly, solitude is more beneficial to seek out than to be stuck in the middle of it. In other words, book a room and don’t get stranded there.
In fact, Ross’s research has shown that people who think solitude does not isolate them from others and who approach solitude with a positive attitude find it more restorative.
Nguyen also suggests taking time to explore what’s pleasant and unpleasant during your alone time. “It often takes time to find what’s best for you,” she says. “Ultimately, the goal is to make your alone time feel like it has a purpose for you.” So customize your cabin in the woods, even if your “cabin” is your backyard.
Learn more: Why Being Alone Is Stigmatized (Even When It Feels Good)
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Our writers discovermagazine.com We use peer-reviewed research and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review them for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Please review the sources used in this article below.
Avery Hurt is a freelance science journalist. In addition to writing for Discover, she writes regularly for a variety of outlets in print and online, including National Geographic, Science News Explores, Medscape, and WebMD. She is the author of Bullet With Your Name on It: What You Will Probably Die From and What You Can Do About It (Clerisy Press 2007) and several books for young readers. Avery began her journalism career while attending college, writing for the school newspaper and editing a student nonfiction magazine. She writes about all areas of science, but is particularly interested in neuroscience, the science of consciousness, and the field of AI, which she developed while earning a degree in philosophy.
