A major study of 2,362 college students, funded by the MacArthur Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, found no real difference between the health behaviors of lonely and socially connected individuals. The researchers found "no differences in the number of major life events, traumas, or intrusive events reported by lonely and nonlonely individuals."
Even more fascinating, lonely and socially connected students engage in the same activities with the same frequency. The two groups even spend the same amount of time alone. Of course, the inside story is different..."lonely individuals reported more perceived stress, more frequent and more severe hassles, and less intense 'uplifts' than the nonlonely individuals."
There is plenty of evidence that feeling lonely is hard on your health. In stress tests, blood flow in the hearts of lonely college students was chronically worse than that of the socially connected, to an extent that could over the years impair cardiovascular functioning.
The research suggests that loneliness impairs the body's natural methods of restoring itself, such as sleeping well and healing wounds. In other words, a lonely heart is a real phenomenon, and is not healed merely by the presence of other people. So, don't expect that going to the cafe and sitting in a booth with your laptop and some coffee will cure your loneliness.