How Important Is Alone Time for Mental Health?
The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated both the challenges of loneliness and a lack of solitary time. While it may be the cost of being part of a social world, some of these challenges demonstrate why alone time can be so important. Having time for yourself helps you break free from social pressures and tap into your own thoughts, feelings, and experiences.
Personal Exploration
Having time to yourself is critical for growth and personal development.
- Instead of worrying about the needs, interests, and opinions of others, alone time lets you focus on yourself, and that can lead to personal growth, personal development, and a sense of self-worth.
How to Spend Time Alone
Pick a time: Figure out when you’d like to spend some time alone.
- Turn off social media
- Plan something: Not everyone is comfortable spending time alone, so plan out what you want to do
- Take a walk: A little time outdoors by yourself can rejuvenate your mood.
Develop the right mindset
Reframe time spent alone as solitude
- While being alone might not always boost your mood, it can help you better regulate your emotions
- Reassessing how you look at spending time alone can play an important role in moderating the potentially negative effects of loneliness
A Word From Verywell
While being alone sometimes gets mistaken for being lonely, it is clear that having time to yourself now and then is important for mental health and well-being.
- Try starting with a small chunk of alone time that allows you to focus on a specific task. As you get better at enjoying your own company, you may find that this alone time helps you feel renewed and inspired for when you do return to your social circle.
Aloneness vs. Loneliness
Loneliness is linked to a wide range of negative health consequences including a higher risk for depression, anxiety, obesity, high blood pressure, and early death.
- But it is important to remember that being alone doesn’t equal loneliness. Where loneliness is marked by negative feelings associated with isolation, alone time involves finding freedom, inspiration, and rejuvenation in solitude.
Creativity
Alone time is an opportunity to let your mind wander
- Research suggests that being alone can lead to changes in the brain that help fuel the creative process
- People who tend to purposely withdraw to spend time alone also tend to be highly creative
- When left with a lack of social stimulation, the brain ramps up its creative networks to help fill the void
Signs You Need Some Alone Time
Feeling short-tempered
- Getting easily irritated by sometimes minor things
- Losing interest in doing things with other people
- Feeling overwhelmed or overstimulated
- Having trouble concentrating
- Being anxious about being around other people
Creating space to be alone
Be clear: Tell the people around you, whether they are roommates, family members, or your partner, that you need time alone. Be specific about what this means.
- Return the favor: If people are willing to take steps to ensure that you get some alone time, it is important for you to show them the same consideration. Offer to take on some responsibilities while they have some space to themselves. Be flexible: Look for opportunities to carve out time for yourself.
Social Energy
Researchers have found that people who live alone may actually have richer social lives and more social energy than people who cohabitate with others
- One in seven U.S. adults lives alone.
- Eric Klineberg found that not only were these adults not lonely, many actually had richer and deeper social lives.
Reasons Being Alone Isn’t Always Easy
Lack of experience being alone
- Distressing thoughts and feelings
- Social stigma
- People overestimate the benefits of being with someone else
- Part of your personality, as well as your individual preferences, can play a role in determining how much alone time you need and how beneficial it may be
- No matter what your personality type, there may be times you can benefit from some quality time to yourself
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