Combating Loneliness with Yoga: A Psychoneuroimmunological Perspective

Recent research has identified loneliness as one of the most crucial factors contributing to ill health and mortality. The rising prevalence of loneliness has triggered a proliferation of intervention studies aimed at addressing loneliness. However, most of these studies have treated loneliness as a lack of company or social skills without paying due attention to enhanced inflammation, which is one of the key factors explaining ill health in lonely individuals. In this paper, I postulate from a psychoneuroimmunological perspective that yoga can reduce loneliness by improving systemic inflammation. To support this contention, I reviewed evidence from psychobiological research on loneliness and conducted a quantitative summary of findings from recent studies examining the impact of yoga on inflammatory parameters. Results show that the effect size of yoga on inflammatory parameters is g = 0.59 (95% CI [0.26 - 0.92], p < .001), which is almost 4 times larger than that associated with the effect of psychological interventions reported in another recent review. Given the rise of the prevalence of loneliness and mounting evidence showing the connection of this psychological condition with altered inflammatory responses, the present analysis provides support for promoting yoga as an evidence-based solution to reduce loneliness. As yoga is a training suitable for all age groups and compatible with lifestyle interventions, this further illustrates the significant implications of yoga for public health. © All rights are reserved by Chuk Ling Julian LAI