It has been said that solitude is the place of purification.
It has also been said that the great omission in American life is solitude … that zone of time and space, free from the outside pressures, which is the incinerator of the spirit.
Indeed, enjoying your own company can be a great catalyst for inner transformation. I myself have experienced this spiritual truth, when I suddenly realized that even in the midst of the crowd I can keep with perfect sweetness my own independence, my own way of being in this world. If you’re contemplating exploring this path, I’d like to offer you this list of 10 reasons why solitude is important in our life, according to everyone.
1. Solitude Offers You an Opportunity for Rest and Self-Reflection
Some research has found that the average American adult spends up to one third of their waking hours alone. In recent years, psychologists have been exploring how these hours spent on our own affect us, including the potential benefits as well as the challenges of solitude. And they’re finding that being alone can offer us a needed opportunity for rest and reflection.
Source: The benefits of solitude – https://www.apa.org
2. Solitude Reduces Your Stress
Importantly, the negative impacts were reduced or nullified when solitude was motivated by personal choice rather than enforced by external factors. Individuals who spent more time alone overall did not report feeling overall lonely or less satisfied, but the benefits remained. People who spent more time alone reported less stress.
Source: How solitude boosts wellbeing – University of Reading –
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3. Solitude Improves Concentration and Memory
When you are working in a group, you might exert less effort to memorize information because you assume that others in the group will fill in the gaps, a phenomenon known as social loafing. Working on things alone can help you focus your attention, which can improve your retention and recall.
Source: The Psychological Benefits of Being Alone – Verywell Mind
4. Solitude Improves Your Problem-Solving Abilities
When you’re constantly surrounded by others, your decision-making and problem-solving processes may be clouded by external opinions and social dynamics. However, spending time alone allows you to approach problems with clarity and objectivity. Without the pressure to conform to groupthink or seek approval from others, you can explore different solutions and evaluate the pros and cons more deliberately.
Source: 10 Benefits of Spending Time Alone for Mental Health – All Points North
5. Solitude Improves Your Relationships
In our pursuit to build relationships, we often fill every waking moment with different forms of human contact – on social media, through email, work meetings, and happy hours. Given the public health impact of loneliness, these are important for social connection. Yet what many of our social endeavors fail to incorporate is the necessity of slowing down and taking time to get to know ourselves. Building long-lasting, sustainable, and meaningful relationships can only happen when we are comfortable alone.
Source: Embracing Our Solitude is a Necessity for Better Relationships – Interfaith America
6. Solitude Sparks Your Creativity
Creativity is one of those things that everyone has, but some people don’t tap into it as often. Solitude is a tool you can use to access your creativity regularly. Studies suggest that being alone can help boost your creativity. Spending alone time can also hone your concentration and help you focus on the tasks.
Source: 5 Benefits of Solitude and Why You Need It for Your Mental Health – CNET
7. Solitude Can Help You Find Moments of Peace
A quiet mind where you can hear your authentic thoughts. Where 24/7 potentially marinating in other people’s thoughts nowadays. Social interaction on every platform that we have can be very energizing. Groupthink historically has ended poorly in a lot of ways. You have to be able to step away, take a beat, and think about who you are, who you want to be, and what you want to contribute to the world. That’s a moment to do that.
Source: The Science Of Solitude And The Power Of Being Alone – Peter McGraw
8. Solitude Gives You a Feeling That You Know Yourself
Solitude gives you a feeling that you know yourself, more than anyone knows you, and takes you away from the herd mentality. It equips you with knowledge and the necessary qualities to achieve personal development and success. Spending time alone for at least 20 minutes each day offers you the clarity and space you need to grow yourself independently. It gives you an introspection on who you are and what you want. And understanding your thoughts, actions and reactions gives you the power to have utmost control over your life.
Source: The Advantages of Solitude – SUCCESS
9. Solitude Helps You Find Your Personal Freedom
By taking the social pressure off, solitude can leave us free us to be who we ‘are’, according to a 2023 study in Scientific Reports by Netta Weinstein at the University of Reading and colleagues. The team asked 175 British and American adults aged over 35 to record what they did and how they felt for 21 days, then analysed these diary entries.
They found that on days when participants chose to spend more time alone, they felt not only less stressed, but also less ‘controlled’ or pressured to behave in a certain way. These benefits were cumulative – those who spent more time alone over the course of the 21 days were less stressed and scored higher on the ‘autonomy’ measures at the end. This work shows that solitude can help certain aspects of well-being, the team concluded.
Source: Seven ways to benefit from solitude | BPS – The British Psychological Society
10. Solitude Is Your Most Reliable Companion
I can relate to writer Henry David Thoreau, whom Emma Goldmancalled “the greatest American anarchist,” when he says, “I have an immense appetite for solitude, like an infant for sleep, and if I don’t get enough for this year, I shall cry all the next.” Solitude is so much the norm for me that, rather unmindfully, I almost forgot to include it in this essay as a practice to maintain. And as Thoreau asserted, “I have never found a companion that was so companionable as solitude.”
Source: Solitude: Unlock Personal Growth with The Power of Solitude – ZingTrain
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Complement with “Solitude: The Science and Power of Being Alone”, and then revisit Ralph Waldo Emerson on the value of solitude and Eckhart Tolle on what it really means to be yourself.
I’m a freelance writer and mindfulness advocate behind this blog. I started my meditation practice in 2014, and in 2017 I launched this website to share what I learn with others. Here are the three things you can do here:
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