Did you know that social isolation is the “new smoking” with respect to negative impact on health? Recent research confirms that individuals with adequate social relationships have a 50% greater likelihood of survival compared to those with poor or insufficient social relationships. Clearly, this is worth paying attention to! Social isolation impairs immune function and boosts inflammation, which can lead to arthritis, type II diabetes, and heart disease. Loneliness is breaking our hearts, but as a culture we rarely talk about it. Studies of elderly people and social isolation concluded that those without adequate social interaction were twice as likely to die prematurely.