We are all becoming familiar with the health impacts of loneliness. Much has been written lately about loneliness, especially about its mental health consequences: commentators talk about social media as both a cause and a cure for loneliness, television programs dedicate themselves to strategies to combat loneliness, social enterprises are increasingly involving themselves in establishing community hubs like men’s sheds and mothers’ groups, knitting circles, community choirs and book clubs.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) reported in 2022 that “almost 1 in 7 (15%) Australians (18% of males and 12% of females) were experiencing social isolation”  The Covid pandemic contributed, of course, but the report also noted that while the proportion of young Australian females (15–24 years) experiencing social isolation decreased in the later years of the pandemic, the proportion of young males continued to increase.

Not everyone who is socially isolated is lonely. AIHW reported separately on self-reported loneliness. One in six Australians reported experiencing loneliness in 2022. Those experiencing loneliness to the greatest extent were those in the 15- to 24-year-old age group an age group very vulnerable to mental health disorders.

Generally, the advice we hear about reducing social isolation and loneliness revolves around paid work, volunteering and active engagement in community activities and organisation, but some new research published in an online supplement of the Journal of Sleep, has shown that better sleep may be connected with reduced feelings of loneliness and it seems to be more important in younger people than in older adults.

Sleep as a critical determinant of mental health will come as no surprise to shift workers or any parent of young children. Interventions to improve sleep seen as increasingly important for maintaining general well-being and improving mental health.

If loneliness is a consequence of poor sleep, the mechanisms for it are probably quite complex. Maybe its because disturbed sleep leads to depression and social withdrawal, or maybe there is a more complicated neurological basis for it. Whatever the explanation we know that lonely young people are at higher risk of poor mental and physical health. If we can help by helping them improve their sleep than we should certainly try.

I agree, a stand-alone intervention around sleep is not likely to “cure” loneliness, but this research suggests that improved sleep may be an important component of better social health.

It can be hard to know where to start with sleep management but an important tool to help teens manage their sleep is an engaging new CBT-based app from researchers at Black Dog Institute called Sleep Ninja. It’s a smartphone app designed to be used during the day (so you don’t need to keep your phone beside your bed). It aims to teach young people about the role and importance of sleep and help them become aware of their own sleep-related habits. It also teaches them ways of developing good sleep promoting-behaviours and habits.

Research results tell us that Sleep Ninja works to improve sleep quality and reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety in young people relative to a matched control group. It was also acceptable to over 90% of users.

Sleep Ninja is free and available to everyone. It’s designed for 12–16-year olds but it is likely that older people may benefit from using it as well. It involves an investment of just 5-10 minutes a day for 6 weeks.

Maybe, along with all the other benefits of improved sleep, we can use the Sleep Ninja app to help young people overcome loneliness as well.

Here’s a link for more information about Sleep Ninja, or you could just download it from the app store and have a look for yourself.

Find the AIHW Report on Social Isolation and Loneliness 2022: