How Increased Physical Activity Can Help Loneliness in Young Adults

There has been a lot of research and work around 'Physical Activity and Loneliness' and their interrelation which concluded that physical activity in older adults helps to boost their mood, increase social interactions, decrease feelings of loneliness and promote overall wellbeing. Older adults are always at a greater risk of mental health issues. However, as times are changing with the introduction of social media - there is an increase in the social interaction of young adults but subsequent decrease in their physical interactions - as most of their world is related to social media and many other factors. Young adults are often left with a feeling of being lonely (Kleinert et al., 2016).

A very recent study (Jennen et la.,2010) stated that when subjects enjoy the physical activity that they are doing, this leads to decreased feelings of loneliness in the subsequant “moment”.

One study ( Shapiro et al.,2010) found that physical activity was associated with increased levels of endorphins - known as the 'Happy Hormone's' in the brain which could improve mood and reduce feelings of loneliness.

A very recent study (Jennen et al.,2023) stated that when subjects enjoy the physical activity that they are doing, this leads to decreased feelings of loneliness in the subsequent 'moment'. This study concludes: 'To experience positive benefits of exercise, one needs to enjoy the physical activity they are doing.'

Until now there is very little evidence about the positive effects of physical activity on loneliness in young adults (with the little available evidence regarding this topic). We are aiming to conduct a mapping review which would highlight the gap in the evidence and pave the way for further robust studies on this issue which would ultimately establish that 'Physical activities could be used to help decrease the negative effect of loneliness in youngsters.'