The Straits Times Podcasts S1E64: Understanding the loneliness crisis: Health Check Ep 64
Health Check Ep 64: Understanding the loneliness crisis
16:29 mins
Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you.
Loneliness is toxic. It is associated with mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, sleep issues and stress. It can also shorten your life. New research from the Duke-NUS Medical school in Singapore and Nihon University in Tokyo, Japan has found that lonely older adults can expect to live a shorter life than their peers who don’t perceive themselves as lonely. Their health would also be affected. The study was published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society on July 7.
In this episode, ST senior health correspondent Joyce Teo asks Assistant Professor Rahul Malhotra, lead author of the study and the head of research at the Centre for Ageing Research and Education at Duke-NUS, to tell us more about loneliness.
They discuss the following points:
- What is loneliness? (1:10)
- The extent of loneliness among the elderly here (2:50)
- How to tell if someone is lonely? (12:48)
- What can be done to help older people who are lonely? (14:15)
Produced by: Joyce Teo (joyceteo@sph.com.sg), Ernest Luis & Hadyu Rahim
Edited by: Hadyu Rahim & Penelope Lee
Follow Health Check Podcast here and rate us:
Channel: https://str.sg/JWaN
Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWRX
Spotify: https://str.sg/JWaQ
Google Podcasts: https://str.sg/J6Wv
SPH Awedio app: https://www.awedio.sg/
Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts
Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg
Read Joyce Teo's stories: https://str.sg/JbxN
---
Discover ST's special edition podcasts:
The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia: https://str.sg/wuZ2
Stop Scams: https://str.sg/wuZB
Singapore's War On Covid: https://str.sg/wuJa
Invisible Asia: https://str.sg/wuZn
---
Discover more ST podcast series:
Asian Insider: https://str.sg/JWa7
Green Pulse: https://str.sg/JWaf
In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt
Your Money & Career: https://str.sg/wB2m
#PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad
ST Sports Talk: https://str.sg/JWRE
Bookmark This!: https://str.sg/JWas
Lunch With Sumiko: https://str.sg/J6hQ
Discover ST Podcasts: http://str.sg/stpodcasts
Discover BT Podcasts: https://bt.sg/pcPL
Follow our shows then, if you like short, practical podcasts!
#healthcheck
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.