I was riding a bus recently and noticed an older man sitting outside a coffee shop on a busy sidewalk. He had set up a chessboard on the table in front of him, and he watched as people passed by, mostly engrossed in their phones. His eyes kept jumping from person to person, searching for someone to notice and join him for a game of chess. Right before the traffic cleared and my bus moved on, he reached over to make the first move, and then resumed his searching.

最近我正在乘公共汽车，看见一个老人坐在一家咖啡馆外面的繁忙的人行道上。他在他面前的桌子上放了一个棋盘，他看着人们从他身边走过，大部分时间都全神贯注地盯着他们的手机。他的眼睛不停地从一个人跳到另一个人，寻找一个人注意他，并和他一起下一盘棋。就在交通清零，我的公共汽车向前驶去时，他伸手第一个动作，然后继续寻找。

Loneliness is rampant, and it’s killing us—literally. Anywhere from one quarter to one half of Americans feel lonely a lot of the time, which puts them at risk for developing a range of physical and mental illnesses, including heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and depression. This is a public health problem that needs to be addressed on a wide scale.

孤独是猖獗的，而且它正在杀死我们——毫不夸张。在任何地方，四分之一到一半的美国人都会感到很孤独，这使得他们面临着患上一系列身体和精神疾病的风险，包括心脏病、癌症、糖尿病和抑郁症。这是一个需要在更大范围内解决的公共卫生问题。

But at the individual level, there is much we can do to ward off loneliness. One strategy is to bring a chessboard to a busy street and wait for someone to play with you. For the older man’s sake, I sincerely hope that this is effective, but I can’t be sure.

但是在个人层面上，我们可以做很多事情来避开孤独。一种策略是把棋盘带到一条繁忙的街道上，等着有人和你一起玩。为了老人的缘故，我真诚地希望这是有效的，但我不能肯定。

Another strategy is to volunteer. In a recent survey of over 10,000 people in the UK, two-thirds reported that volunteering helped them feel less isolated. Similarly, a 2018 study of nearly 6,000 people across the US examined widows who, unsurprisingly, felt lonelier than married adults. After starting to volunteer for two or more hours per week, their average level of loneliness subsided to match that of married adults, even after controlling for demographics, baseline health, personality traits, and other social involvement. These benefits may be especially strong the older you are and the more often you volunteer.

另一个策略是做志愿者。在最近对英国1万多人进行的一项调查中，三分之二的人报告说，志愿服务让他们感觉不那么孤立。类似的，2018年一项针对全美近6000人的研究调查了这些寡妇，不出所料，她们比已婚成年人感到孤独。在开始每周做两个或更多小时的志愿者后，即使在控制了人口统计学、基线健康、个性特征和其他社会参与之后，他们的孤独感水平也下降到与已婚成年人相当。这些好处可能是特别强大，你是老年人和更经常你自愿。

Participating in volunteer opportunities may help alleviate loneliness and its related health impact for several reasons. The first and most obvious is that it’s a meaningful way to connect with others and make new friends. I experienced this firsthand when I moved to San Francisco and knew almost no one. After joining a young professionals volunteer group, getting involved with a local nonprofit serving seniors and adults with disabilities, and both organizing and assisting with neighborhood events, I felt my own sense of community and social support increase dramatically.

参与志愿活动可能有助于减轻孤独感及其相关的健康影响，原因有几个。首先也是最明显的一点是，它是一种与他人联系并结交新朋友的有意义的方式。当我搬到旧金山时，我亲身体验到了这种体验，几乎没有人认识。在加入了一个年轻的专业志愿者组织，加入了当地一家为残疾老人和残疾成年人服务的非盈利组织，并协助了社区活动之后，我感觉到自己的社区和社会支持感显着增强。

Second, volunteering can make up for the loss of meaning that commonly occurs with loneliness. Research using the UCLA Loneliness Scale and Meaning in Life Questionnaire has shown that more loneliness is associated with less meaning. This makes sense, given our deeply rooted need for belonging. By volunteering for social causes that are important to us, we can gain a sense of purpose, which in turn may shield us from negative health outcomes. For example, purpose in life has been linked to a reduced likelihood of stroke and greater psychological well-being.

第二，志愿服务可以弥补因孤独而产生的意义的丧失。研究使用加州大学洛杉矶分校的孤独量表和生活意义问卷显示，更多的孤独感与更少的意义有关。这是有道理的，因为我们对归属感有着根深蒂固的需求。通过自愿参加对我们很重要的社会事业，我们可以获得一种目标感，这反过来又可以保护我们免受负面的健康后果。例如，生活中的目标与减少中风的可能性和更好的心理健康有关。

Third, loneliness and isolation can lead to cognitive decline, such as memory loss. But according to the neuroscientist Lisa Genova, people who regularly engage in mentally stimulating activities build up more neural connections and are subsequently more resilient to symptoms of Alzheimer’s. So, volunteering is one way to stay engaged and stimulated, rather than isolated and lonely, and thereby protect against cognitive decline.

第三，孤独和孤立会导致认知能力下降，比如记忆力丧失。但神经学家莉萨·诺瓦认为，经常从事精神刺激活动的人可以建立更多的神经联系，从而对老年痴呆症的症状有更强的抵抗力是的。因此，志愿服务是一种保持参与和刺激的方式，而不是孤立和孤独，从而保护人们免受认知能力的衰退。

These insights may be especially relevant for the growing senior population. By 2030, one in five residents in the US will be of retirement age, may no longer have work to provide purpose and connection, and will be prone to isolation due to increased physical limitations and loved ones passing away. Given that loneliness seems to be most prevalent among those over 65 and under 25 years old, mentoring across ages could be a powerful way to volunteer and connect. Indeed, I recently experimented with hosting an intergenerational friendship gathering and found that it left baby boomers and millennials—not to mention me—feeling gratified.

这些见解可能与日益增多的老年人口尤为相关。到2030年，美国五分之一的居民将达到退休年龄，可能不再有工作来提供目的和联系，而且由于身体限制的增加和亲人的去世，他们很容易被孤立。考虑到孤独感在65岁以上和25岁以下的人群中似乎是最普遍的，跨年龄的指导可能是一种强有力的志愿和联系方式。的确，我最近尝试过主办代际友谊聚会，结果发现，这让婴儿潮一代和千禧一代——更不用说我——感到欣慰了。

I wish I could have stopped my bus and skipped my plans that day to play chess with the older man. He struck me as a symbol of our times: people wanting desperately to connect—not through a screen, but face-to-face, with others from their community. Now more than ever, we have a real need and opportunity to build a culture of social health, one interaction at a time. Volunteering is a great way to start.

我真希望那天能停下车去,跳过了我的计划和那位老人下国际象棋。他给我的印象是我们这个时代的一个象征：人们迫切地渴望联系而不是通过屏幕，而是面对面地与来自他们社区的其他人建立联系。现在，我们比以往任何时候都更需要和机会建立一种社会健康的文化，一次互动。志愿工作是一个很好的开始方式。