Eight hours without social contact can lead to a reduction in energy similar to eight hours without food, finds a study in the context of Covid-19 lockdowns. The study, published in Psychological Science, suggests that low energy may be a basic human response to a lack of social contact. It also showed that this response was affected by social personality traits of the participants.

If we do not eat for an extended period, a series of biological processes ensue and create a craving sensation we recognise as hunger. As a social species, we also need other people to survive. Evidence shows that a lack of social contact induces a craving response in our brains comparable to hunger, which motivates us to reconnect, said researchers from the University of Vienna in Austria.