According to research report in The United States, loneliness or isolation can increase blood pressure, especially if you are aged over 50. The study found that the lack of relationships and interactions with other people will not only make your life unhappy, but also worsen your health.

Psychologists found that there is a direct relationship between loneliness and blood pressure increase in an interval number of four years of research. This relation was not affected by age or other factors such as smoking and obesity. This is also not associated with depression and stress.

“Behavior of being alone is a unique risk factor which is also a personal right,” said researcher Dr Louise Hawkley who includes his research in the Psychology and Aging journal.

Dr. Hawkley, a psychologist from the University of Chicago, who did research about the effects of loneliness on health problems and qualities. High blood pressure or hypertension has long been known as a serious health threat. Hypertension can increase the risk of heart attack, stroke and kidney dysfunction.

In his research, Hawkley and her team involved 229 respondents aged 50 to 68. They were randomly grouped in long-term study. Each member of the group were asked to answer a series of questions to ascertain whether they are experiencing loneliness. Respondents were also asked to make the average value of relationships with others through a variety of topics.

During several years of the research, Dr. Hawkley found a clear connection between feelings of loneliness which were reported in earlier studies with an increase in blood pressure during the period. “The increase is related to loneliness is not observed until two years of research, but then continued to increase until four years later,” said Dr. Hawkey.

According to the research, respondents with a mid level of loneliness also felt the effect. Among all respondents, the most lonely people have blood pressure increases by more than 10 percent of the average. Concerns about social relationships can serve as the basis why whose who are lonely increase blood pressure.

Obesity and depression were closely linked. One study revealed that obesity increases the risk of depression. In contrast, depressed people are also at increased risk to obesity.

Research conducted by the Leiden University Medical Center, Netherlands,found that depression increased the risk of obese people who were not initially depressed by 55 per cent and depression increase the risk of obesity is initially normal weight by 58 percent.

“There is reciprocal relationship over time between depression and obesity,” says lead researcher Dr S Floriana Luppino from Leiden University Medical Center, Netherlands, told by Reuters Health. Luppino said, this analysis was not designed to determine what type of person is prone to the risk of depression, but only to find out how much obesity increases risk.

But as a comparison, a recent study was funded by National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) found that nearly one in four cases of obesity associated with mood or anxiety disorders.

These findings, said the researchers at the NIMH as listed on the site, appears to support what other studies have found that obesity in which case the rise in the United States is associated with increased levels of depression citizens and the problems other mental health.

Meanwhile, recent research conducted Leiden University Medical Center also has the same result. The study was collected from approximately 15 studies have been published to see whether being overweight or obese is associated with depression, and vice versa.

Studies collectively involving more than 58,000 people, using a measure of body mass index (body mass index / BMI) to measure how fat or thin a person. For reference, the United States adults with a BMI 25 or more is considered overweight, but some were calling the size of BMI over 30 had declared obesity.

Being fat, said Luppino, not only increases the risk of depression, but depression may trigger a more violent, which is no longer centered around the symptoms of depression. In contrast to obesity, the relationship between depression and being overweight (but not obese) is not related reciprocity, but only one direction. He said, being overweight only increases the risk of depression in people who were not initially depressed. However, depression did not increase the risk of being overweight from time to time.

This finding itself was reported in a recent issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, which also showed that the relationship between obesity and depression are more likely evident in Americans than Europeans.

Why? ‘An association response, which means the higher the BMI the more people suffering from depression may explain the association, “said Luppino. The average weight of Americans are heavier than ratarata European citizens.

However, the researchers say, the effects of psychological stress in overweight people should not be ignored. Overweight and obesity can lead to low self-esteem, and dissatisfaction with body shape. “Especially in Western countries where thin is often regarded as an ideal of beauty. Both the low self and body shape dissatisfaction known to increase risk of depression, “said Luppino.

Because depression and obesity carry a greater health implication, it is important to prevent and treat both. The team of Dutch researchers are encouraging doctors and other health professionals, who work in various fields, to collaborate and exchange their expertise.

Luppino suggested, doctors who treat patients who are overweight or obese can also treat depression related problems. While psychiatrists or general practitioners who treat depressed people can advise patients who are obese are also to meet with dietitians.

While other studies mentioned, good habits at home as often eat with the family at home may prevent children are obese. Research published in March issue of the journal Pediatrics stated that children who are toddlers could decrease the risk of obesity by 40 percent if often have dinner with the family, limiting hours of watching TV, and enough sleep.

“Doing one or all three are proven to reduce the risk of obesity of children under five,” said Sarah Anderson PhD, lead researcher and assistant professor of epidemiology at Ohio State University, United States, as quoted by webmd.com.

Children under five who live at home and followed the three lifestyle restrictions such routines can reduce almost 40 percent lower risk of obesity than those who did not do all three. These findings also take into account risk factors, such as maternal obesity and household income.

Obviously, we are aware on how important sleep is. Whether we understand or not the full concept of what sleep can do to our bodies, we knew that having a day without sleep is terrible. Your eyes and body are heavy, your head hurts, you feel exhausted and you cannot concentrate. Your work and everyday function is greatly affected.

So, what is sleep anyway and why do we need it?

Sleep is a state wherein one is relatively suspended from sensory and motor activities. You can be totally or partially unconscious and while majority of your voluntary muscles are inactive. Before, it was thought that sleep is just a constant and regular block of time when you are not awake. With the advancement of science, scientists had determined that sleep plays a critical role in our body’s immune system, our learning, memory, metabolism and other vital organ functions.

As we age, the time we are spending for sleep lessen. From 16 to 18 hours a day for newborns, adults on the average sleep for 7 to 8 hours daily. And because we are all aware to this fact, many older people ignore their sleeping problems, thinking that it is normal. Adults still need 8 hours of sleep. How well you function for the day’s tasks and works greatly depends on the quantity and the quality of sleep you had.

Sleep is beneficial for us to react quickly, think clearly, improve our concentration and enable us to create memories. As a matter of fact, the learning pathway in the brain is very active during sleep. Losing even 1 hour of sleep has its price. Your ability to do focus and do physical tasks is greatly decreased resulting to lower performance in school or at work. Also, you tend to make wrong decisions when you are sleepy placing you at more risk.

Sleep also affects our mood. Lack of sleep is often linked to irritability, troubled relationships and poor behavior. Moreover, those who are chronically deprived of sleep are prone to depression.

Most importantly, it is good to our health. Sufficient sleep decreases our risk in having high blood pressure, heart problems and other medical conditions. It is also during sleep that certain hormones that enhances our immune system are at its peak. This might be one reason why a good night’s sleep helps you from getting sick.

The specialists from the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at University College London looked at data from 7,524 civil servants between the ages of 35 and 55 during the period between 1985 and 1988. Those civil servants who said that they were bored were nearly 40% more likely to have died by the end of the study than those who said they were not.

It was also found that there was sufficient evidence that there is a link between heart disease and boredom.

But why do some people claim that they are bored to death?

* This may be due to the work they are doing being not challenging enough. They need to find something more challenging and stimulating to do at work or else they’ll really be bored to death.
* Sometimes boredom could be the result of depression. If you’re depressed, you usually lose interest in what you are doing. Depression interferes with your work, social and family life.
* People have too much time on their hands. These people include retirees and wealthy people with not very much to do to keep themselves occupied.
* People with high intelligence are grouped with people with average intelligence. Take the case of a very intelligent child being in the same class as children of average intelligence. The intelligent child picks up information very quickly and is ready to move on to a new topic. They are unable to move on because the rest of the class is still learning the topic. As a result the intelligent child very quickly gets bored with lessons.
* There is a lack of change in the environment. If you’ve been in the same environment for too long you’ll soon get bored with your surrounding.

Some people who are bored to death turn to drinking and smoking to combat their boredom. They get addicted to drinking, smoking and other drugs which are detrimental to their health.

Some of the ways to cure boredom are:

* If you find the work routine too repetitive and boring, speak to your manager and ask if the work of the department can be rotated. For example, if you work in the accounts department, one person may be dealing with the accounts receivable, another person may be dealing with accounts payable, yet another may be dealing with asset ledgers. If you’re dealing with only one area of the departmental work, then it will get rather boring after a while. You may feel that you can do the tasks blindfolded. It’s not challenging enough to keep you stimulated.A job rotation every 3 – 4 months will help to stimulate you and your colleagues because you look forward to doing something different when you rotate to another task within the department. The departmental workload is still done and it’s good for the department as you’ll be able to cover for each other during holiday period or when you or your colleague is on sick leave.
* Once you recognize the signs of depression and if you are bored as a result of it, you should ask for help and support. Speak to your family and friends and let them know what you’re going through. Tell them you need their support and understanding. Don’t shut them out as your depression might get worse in isolation.The signs of depression include feelings of helplessness, feeling bored with daily activities, feeling tired and physically drained, change in the sleep pattern or appetite and having problems with their concentration.
* If you have too much time on your hands, you can sign up as a volunteer worker. There are many charitable organisations looking for the services of volunteers. You’ll feel great within yourself knowing your contribution has helped to make the lives of other people better.
* If you feel bored because you’re not in the right learning group, make a request to get transferred to a more advance learning group. You may have been accidentally put to a beginner’s class instead of an intermediate or advanced class. You may be happy and feel that the pace of this class is well within your comfort zone but the price you’ve to pay for this comfort is boredom.
* If you’re bore with your environment, make changes to it. If you’re bored with the colour of your room, change it to a different colour to please your senses. If you’re bored with your surrounding, take a short break from your surrounding. Go away for a few days and visit your relative or friend in another location.

Boredom is a state of mind and should be tackled as soon as possible. The mind needs to be challenged and stimulated before you’re bored to death. A change in your lifestyle can also open up new interests to keep you from being bored

Nervous Breakdown is also well known as mental breakdown. There are several causes which contribute to the problem of nervous breakdown. But social isolation is regarded as one of the major causes of nervous breakdown. There may be several reasons behind social isolation. It hardly matters, as the damage caused by this factor is quite irreparable.

The following are the general signs and symptoms of a nervous breakdown. A person might experience some of them simultaneously or only one of them in an exaggerated form. The type of symptoms occurring varies from individual to individual depending upon their mental stability and past history of mental disorders.

Symptoms of Nervous Breakdown

1. Physically - A brain with excessive stress is the first indicator of a nervous breakdown. Feelings of lethargy, constant pains and aches, scratchy and inflamed skin, lowered body resistance are also signs of an imminent breakdown. Repeated sensations of vomiting and gastric problems like stomach cramps gastrointestinal ulcers, colitis and diarrhea over extended periods of time might be indicative of a nervous breakdown.

2. Hostile Behavior – This involves a person displaying excessive antisocial behavior like gambling, eve teasing, vandalism and alcoholism. In extreme cases a person might resort to overt usage of drugs which is quite a clear sign of nervous breakdowns although it is not a rule.

3. Amnesia - Constantly forgetting appointments and schedules, short term memory lapse, confusion over order of occurrence of past events describe amnesia which, left untreated may lead to frustration. Frustration may then take control over the sufferer leading to rage and outbursts.

4. Delirium - Individuals may show signs of delirium and visualize hallucinations and delusions. By hallucinations and delusions one means tasting, smelling, seeing, feeling and hearing things that do not exist in reality. They might also display narcissism which is a state of extreme self-adoration and vanity.

People on the verge of a nervous breakdown are known to have nightmares and become obsessed with terrors. Panic attacks, loss of self-esteem, sleepwalking, and morbid thought patterns are symptoms of nervous wrecks as well. Such people may also threaten to harm and destroy other people, or hurt oneself by committing suicide.

Overview
One common aspect of these symptoms is an unexpected and abrupt dissolution of the human being’s personality. This means moving away from a fixed functional routine towards a more chaotic and disruptive lifestyle. Other symptoms of a mental breakdown are irrepressible crying, low energy levels, cyclic perplexity, desolation, incapacity to think obviously, sleep interruption or insomnia, total lack of pleasure in mundane jobs and feeling of insignificance and sadness.