Community Is Good For Our Health
Loneliness Epidemic | Emotional Health | Time in Community
This is part 1 of a 3 part series exploring intersections of community and health It’s more data-centric, laying for the foundation to share more personal experiences from the past 2 years of intentionally immersing myself in physical and digital communities.
I first drafted this essay in 2021, on the heels of the pandemic. Hang around for the Endnote for more context on its resurgence and what you can expect in part 2. - Adam✌️
I won’t bury the lede:
In an increasingly isolated world, prioritizing community and nurturing social connections is a key to reclaiming our health and vitality.
If we’re more “connected” than ever, why are we also lonelier than ever before?
Since prioritizing my emotional health and time spent in “community” the past 12 months, I’ve simply… felt much better. My baseline happiness has been higher. You might wonder:
What does “prioritizing your emotional health” even look like?
For me it’s saying yes more to time in the right communities, consistent runs with close friends, and prioritizing time connecting, but it’ll look different for you.
Since actively prioritizing this, I’ve noticed a difference in how I feel. And I suspect this simple message needs to reach the minds of many others.
I’ve historically prioritized solitude over socialization. I’m typically juggling multiple projects on top of my day job, am generally busy, leading me to guard my time and say no often.1
But by honoring my social needs, instead of neglecting them while working long hours has made my heart and soul feel good.
Prioritizing Emotional Health
Simple social connection, community, and friendship are essential to our health and well-being. Read that again, then consider this simple question for yourself:
Reflect: What’s 1 simple thing you can do to prioritize your emotional health and social needs this week?
It’s refreshing to see The Harvard Study of Adult Development shed light on this crucial aspect of social connection, which is often overlooked in mainstream health narratives. What can we learn from the longest running study on adult life, health, and happiness, dating back to 1938?
"It wasn’t their cholesterol levels that predicted how they were going to grow old. It was how satisfied they were in their relationships. The people who were the most satisfied in their relationships at age 50 were the healthiest at age 80."
These insights invite us to rethink our priorities and remind us that the strength of our connections aren’t just good for our soul, they might be a powerful predictor of our health and longevity.
How are we spending our time?
The data ain’t pretty. Habitual isolation has become our default mode of operating.
2013: The average American spent 6.5 hours/week with friends.
2019: That number sank to 4 hours/week, down 37% from 5 years prior.
2021: Time with friends fell to 2.75 hours/week, declining 58% from 2013.
Okay okay… so we’re spending less time with friends. What’s the big deal?
Isolation is killing us. The U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, agrees. In a newly-issued report, he calls loneliness:
A crisis on the order of obesity or smoking, with even greater consequences for health. Loneliness increases the risk of stroke by 32 percent, heart disease by 29 percent; odds of dementia go up by 50 percent.
He opens the report with our obligation to fight this fight:
“We have an opportunity, and an obligation, to make the same investments in addressing social connection that we have made in addressing tobacco use, obesity, and the addiction crisis.”
What’s the opposite of isolation?
Connection
Connection does more than just fill a void, it transforms our biology, psychology, and overall well-being. It influences stress hormones, inflammation, gene expression not to mention other behaviors…
But after looking deeper into the National Survey fo American Adults, and reading about the loneliness epidemic, we’re not connected (yet).
36% of respondents reported serious loneliness, which included 61% of young people aged 18-25 and 51% of mothers with young children.
About half of lonely young adults reported that no one in the past few weeks had taken more than just a few minutes to ask how they’re doing in a way that made them feel like the person “genuinely cared for”.
This doesn’t surprise me. In our device-centric world, it’s rare to lock eyes with somebody in conversation, to be listened to steadily and reliably.
The conditions of modern life already divide us. And now is our time to resist. Now is our time to reconnect.
The Positive Note
Amidst the brewing loneliness epidemic, several fitness x community concepts have emerged as epicenters of genuine human connection.
Run clubs are just 1 example of health-centric groups having a prolific moment because of a collision of community-driven and tech-driven reasons. Once niche communities, now every major city boasts endless options. (to be explored in Part 2 +3)
I feel blessed on a daily basis that I’m able to spend time in many active communities in SF (running/yoga/lifting), online communities like Write of Passage, Foster, Twitter, and easily surround myself with value-aligned friends…
My questions to you are:
How can you spend less time in isolation this week and more time around others?
How can you set up your life so there’s less distance between you and communities?
How can you connect on a 1% deeper level this week?
You have something in common with myself and the rest of the world… we need community and connection.
✨ Endnote
This is part 1 of a 3 part series exploring intersections of health and community.
In Part 2, my good friend Ben (newer to Substack with epic stories to share) will be writing about how community fitness experiences can make a dent in these issues. I’ll be sharing observations after attending 30 community fitness events in 30 days and building (and shutting down) a running community for newer runners.
As we dive deeper into the intersections of community and health in this series, I invite you to reimagine the fabric of our social worlds. The simple act of connection can transform our lives. Pass it along to a friend or feel free to reach out if any of these ideas resonated.
Be Well,
Adam
P.S.2
I’m launching Writing the Wave in April. If you’re eager to learn more ahead of the launch, reach out. I’d love to share more and get your feedback prior to launch.
I’ll be loosening up future writing parameters to simply… write about the content that I want to, like this. I have dozens of drafts and almost published essays, and if the ideas still remain alive, I’ll be sharing ‘em with you soon.
loved this. one thing i realized over the last year is how my desire/need for community exists beyond just hanging with a few close friends. there's a form of loose connection around a shared interest, proximity, or experience that is nourishing and important in its own way. and so much of modern life has pulled us out of that context, so we need things like exercise and writing groups to bring us back into it
Love, love, love. More run clubs in 2024. More investing into communities and relationships that bring us vitality. A few absolute bangers in here. Excited for the rest of 'em.