BBC WORLD SERVICE: The BBC Loneliness Experiment Launches

Description

Claudia Hammond launches the BBC Loneliness Experiment, the world's largest ever survey of its kind on loneliness.
Loneliness is likely to affect all of us at some point in our lives and is not only distressing, but is implicated in health problems such as an increased risk of heart disease. For some people loneliness occurs because of a change in circumstances such as after bereavement, becoming unemployed or starting university. And while some tend to adapt to their new lives and the feeling of loneliness fades others are less able to shake off their pain.

The Loneliness Experiment, devised by psychologists from three British universities in collaboration with Wellcome Collection, aims to look at causes and possible solutions to loneliness. And we want as many people as possible to fill in our survey, even if they’ve never felt lonely, because we want to know what stops people feeling lonely, so that more of us can feel connected. To launch the Experiment Claudia Hammond is joined by Professor Manuela Barreto of the University of Exeter, Professor Pamela Qualter of the University of Manchester and Dr Nicole Valtorta of Newcastle University.