Health experts, psychologists and happiness researchers all agree that social connection is crucial to our wellbeing.
“Every available study of happy people suggests that happy people are more social, they spend more time physically around other people, and they invest time in their friends and family members,” Yale psychology professor Laurie Santos told CNBC Make It in 2024.
Still, about 21% of 13- to 17-year-olds and 17% of 18- to 29-year-olds experience loneliness, according to a June 2025 report from the World Health Organization.
And a study published just this month in the journal Plos One found that young people — and young women specifically — who’d gone through recent life changes like the end of a romantic relationship or a big move are among the groups who experience higher levels of loneliness.
That’s true even if they report having friends in their lives.
So what can people do to feel less lonely? Bestselling author, speaker and wellness leader Deepak Chopra has a simple answer.
There’s research that shows that if you have at least six one-on-one conversations a day, “everything improves in your life,” he says.
Chopra recently launched a wellness platform that offers guided meditations, community discussion boards and an AI chatbot that draws from his decades of work.
Chopra also has a recipe for higher quality social engagements.
An easy way to get the most out of your social connections, according to Chopra
Chopra believes all interactions should include what he calls the “four As”:
- Attention, meaning “deep listening,” he says
- Affection, or a sense that “you hold my back, I hold your back”
- Appreciation, remembering that “everybody is a walking universe”
- Acceptance
The “Four As” can be in texts and in-person conversations, but what’s important, he says, is that you “talk to six people every day and do it with care and attention and affection.”
If you’re having an especially busy day and don’t have time to give people a call, even sending loved ones an emoticon that says “I’m thinking of you” is “better than nothing,” he says.
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