Most of us grow up thinking you’re either extroverted or introverted. The truth is that most people are actually classified as ambiverts, which is a balance between the two. The next most common group is moderately extroverted followed by moderately introverted. Highly introverted people, on the other hand, are the rarest of all groups, and this is the group that could be most negatively affected by their socialization preferences. Being introverted could make you sick… if you’re highly introverted – and today we’ll tell you four reasons why.
1. Social connection is a basic human need.
When we think of basic human needs, our minds usually go to food, clothing, and shelter. I bet you didn’t group your relationships with those items, did you? But you should have. Human connection has evolved into a need to both survive and thrive over thousands of years. As a species, mankind has survived through human collaboration, cooperation, and communication. Banding together in groups in the times of cavemen allowed for strength and safety in numbers and a stronger unit to raise children.
Anthropologist Robin Dunbar has claimed that the human brain has reached its fairly large size to allow for the cognition needed to connect with others. More recently, our brains have been divided into two main networks: one for social tasks and one for non-social tasks. When we aren’t engaged in any task, though, our brains automatically go back to our social networks. This means our default thinking system is social – we’re hardwired to think socially!
Another group of researchers used an MRI machine to monitor the brain activity of people who were socially isolated for 10 hours and had undergone 10 hours of fasting from food on a separate day. After both instances, brain imaging showed that the individuals showed an intense craving response for food after the fast, but an even stronger mental craving for human connection after being socially isolated!
Have you ever felt lonely? That’s your brain’s cue telling you that you need a genuine human connection. Just like thirst tells you to drink water, your brain also tells you when you’re low on connection – and it’s more serious than you think.
2. Loneliness is an official public health issue.
The American Medical Association, or AMA for short, identified loneliness as a public health issue for people of all ages. The U.S. Surgeon General stated that half of American adults experience loneliness, presenting a public health threat that is equal to smoking and obesity. That’s a big deal.
Younger people are more affected by this than older, and it doesn’t mean you are sitting at home isolated all of the time. You can surround yourself with people and be lonely; it is a lack of strong, deep connection with others that causes the public health issue. Feeling lonely has a higher correlation to depression, anxiety, cardiovascular problems, sleep issues, weight gain or loss, and even death.
On the bright side, you don’t need 10 friends, but you do need 1 or 2 you can count on. And you can always count on me! I’d love to see the same support back through your liking and subscribing for more. You know I appreciate you!
3. Less teamwork means less success.
If you’re one of the 3.3 billion people on planet Earth who works, then being introverted could slowly kill you in more ways than one. You already have the health issue, but now it could also go after your livelihood, AKA your job. Teamwork has been shown to increase productivity, enhance innovation, and create 2.3 times more engagement at work than working alone. By plugging into your work community, you are actually plugging more into your work for the better. Customer satisfaction improves and employee retention increases. If you’re able to connect with your co-workers, you’re likely to have a higher emotional IQ and greater life satisfaction. If you don’t know why emotional IQ is super important, check out another post we made recently called, “What the Heck Is Emotional Intelligence.”
Anyway – what if you’re introverted, though, and you don’t connect with anyone? Well, there have been studies linking isolation at work to lower motivation, increased anxiety, and a greater chance that you’ll either be let go or quit due to unfulfillment.
It’s no surprise that if you cut out your main form of income, you’ll quickly see how other things start to go downhill in response.
4. Staying at home negatively affects your immune system.
If there’s a new world pandemic going on – knock on wood – do yourself a favor and stay inside. Otherwise, though, spending too much time confined at home and away from others could leave you more vulnerable to other infections. Humans have evolved within a 24-hour cycle of light and dark, and our bodies are set up to work with the sun. When exposed to UVB, we produce vitamin D which affects our immune cells. Lower levels of this vitamin make you more likely to get a respiratory infection. And don’t think you can fix it with supplements either – they do not properly bind to the vitamin D binding protein, which is how our bodies make exactly the amount of vitamin D that we need… only when we are out about, though.
Conclusion:
There’s nothing wrong with spending some time alone or taking a break from socializing. No one is a social butterfly 24/7… or even 12/7. The issue arises if you consider yourself to be a highly introverted individual with few to no strong connections in your life. Remember that this channel is here for you! As always, thanks for watching.