[pm90]

I believe there’s research in the social sciences that show that social contact and connections have a very positive impact on people’s health.

Of course, such studies measure the average so each individual’s situation may be different. But it’s also not clear to me why it would be different for such large of a group.

[vsareto]

I've always wondered if you were a recluse but had an excellent diet/fitness routine that the social contact benefits for health would not matter anymore. It's actually the best possible scenario for getting extremely fit because you don't have a job or social obligations.

[durnygbur]

Yeah you have all the time to sleep well, prepare food and eat healthy, hydrate, stretch and excercise, work on any stimulating however trivial personal projects. What you leave behind is the stress coming from a job, miserable dates and rejections, and any stress related health problems which later on one is desperately tring to resolve with doctors and medical procedures.

[ThrowawayR2]

> "I've always wondered if you were a recluse but had an excellent diet/fitness routine that the social contact benefits for health would not matter anymore."

Solitary confinement in prisons is known to be detrimental to mental health so that seems most likely to be false.

[luckylion]

That's not something the inmates choose though, they're being forced to be in solitary confinement.

Studies might not be ideal here. How many hermits participate in social studies run at universities?