Scientists at the University of Toronto have found that people who experience loneliness or social exclsusion lieterally tend to feel ‘cold.’
Although loneliness has been associated with feeling cold from the perspective of language, this is the first time that it has been shown to be true from the perspective of sensory perception: In the study, people who felt they were socially excluded said that a room was colder than those who felt included, reports BBC.
Interestingly enough, the individuals who felt left out chose to drink soup rather than eating an apple or drinking juice. What does this suggest?
The research suggests that people who are feeling low may be helped by increasing the temperature. This would be similar to the way that people who suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD would be helped by light therapy.