Volunteer and charity work can help you meet new people, and protect your blood pressure.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Feeling chronically lonely over a period of several years can significantly increase blood pressure readings among lonely people age 50 and older, according to research published in the journal Psychology and Aging this month. The results held strong, regardless of people's body mass index, smoking habits, alcohol use, or differences in race and income.

THE DETAILS: Researchers monitored 229 people ages 50 to 68 over a period of five years, asking if they considered themselves lonely and having them rate the quality of their relationships. Researchers found a link between loneliness at the beginning of the study and a rising blood pressure throughout the study. They didn't see a BP increase until about the two-year point, but the readings continued to rise into the fourth year. The loneliest people in the study experienced, on average, a 14.4-point increase in systolic blood pressure (the top number) when compared to the group reporting the highest level of social satisfaction. "Loneliness is characterized by a motivational impulse to connect with others, but also a fear of negative evaluation, rejection, and disappointment," explains lead researcher Louise Hawkley, PhD, associate director of the Social Neuroscience Laboratory and a senior research scientist with the Center for Cognitive and Social Neuroscience and the department of psychology at the University of Chicago. Those fears, over time, create stress that has a physical effect on the body. "We hypothesize that threats to one’s sense of safety and security with others are toxic components of loneliness, and that hypervigilance for social threat may contribute to alterations in physiological functioning, including elevated blood pressure."

WHAT IT MEANS: Loneliness really can break your heart. This new research is the first to find a connection between blood pressure spikes and loneliness, and high BP opens the door to other serious health problems, such as heart attack, stroke, and even dementia. High blood pressure is the main culprit in nearly 20 percent of deaths in this country, although there's no way of knowing how often chronic loneliness leads to blood pressure–related deaths.

Read on to find out how to make new friends and lower your blood pressure.