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The Isolation Crisis and Why Nature Matters More Than Ever

We are living in a time of dual crises that are interconnected. Not only are we increasingly disconnected from one another, but we are also disconnected from the natural world. Research shows that these two disconnections are linked, and so are the solutions.

The Scale of Disconnection

One in six people worldwide is affected by loneliness, according to a landmark 2025 report from the World Health Organization Commission on Social Connection. The numbers are stark. Loneliness and social isolation account for approximately 871,000 deaths each year, which amounts to roughly 100 deaths every hour (WHO Commission on Social Connection, 2025).

The impacts go beyond mortality. Social isolation and loneliness increase the risk of stroke, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cognitive decline, and premature death (WHO, 2025). People who are lonely are twice as likely to develop depression (WHO, 2025). In the United States, about one in three adults report feeling lonely, and one in four adults report lacking social and emotional support (CDC, 2025).

How We Got Here

This lonliness and disconnection crisis intensified during the COVID-19 lockdowns, but the data shows it was already building. Among US adults aged 50 to 80, 33.9% reported lacking companionship in 2018. That figure jumped to 41.4% in 2020 and remained elevated through 2024, settling at 33.4% (Malani et al., JAMA Network Open, 2025). Global prevalence of social isolation increased by 13.4% between 2009 and 2024, with the entire increase occurring after 2019 (Fuller-Rowell et al., JAMA Network Open, 2025).

Young people are disproportionately affected. Between 17-21% of individuals aged 13 to 29 reported feeling lonely, with the highest rates among teenagers (WHO, 2025). Screen time and negative online interactions contribute to the problem, particularly for adolescents (WHO, 2025).

What Nature Does to Our Bodies

Here is where the conversation shifts. While there’s an epidemic of disconnection from each other, we are also disconnected from the natural world. And that disconnection compounds the harm.

Nature does not just improve mood. It fundamentally alters our physiology. Time spent in natural environments may reduce inflammation, lower blood pressure, and produce beneficial changes, particularly for people experiencing stress (Jimenez et al., MDPI 2021). Nature exposure may also reduce depressive symptoms, improve cognitive function, and increase quality of life (Bettmann et al., 2024, Sage Journals).

How Much Time You Actually Need

The benefits of spending time in nature are accessible to most people. Research across 18 countries found that recreational visits to green spaces, rivers, and coastlines were positively associated with wellbeing and negatively associated with mental distress (Nature, 2021). Even as little as 10 minutes in urban nature can produce measurable mental health benefits for adults with diagnosed mental illness (Bettmann et al.).

Virtual nature can also be effective. Exposure to virtual natural environments can reduce anxiety, stress and depression in healthy adults, offering a viable option when direct access to nature is not possible (Chen etc al., npj Digital Medicine, 2025).

We Are Part of Nature

What the research points to is this: we are part of nature, not separate from it. Our bodies evolved in natural environments. Our nervous systems respond to birdsong, moving water, and the sight of trees. When we disconnect from nature, we lose access to something our biology still recognises as essential.

The solutions to isolation include policy changes, community infrastructure, and addressing structural inequities. They also include something simpler: getting outside. Sitting under trees. Walking beside water. Noticing birds. Touching soil.

Join the Conversation

This Earth Day, Conservation Volunteers Australia is asking a question we hope you will answer: #NatureMakesMeFeel ___

Send us a DM on Instagram at @conservationvolunteers and tell us how nature makes you feel. Because reconnection starts with remembering what we are part of.