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The book Solitude, The Science and Power of Being Alone, is written by the author trio, Netta Weinstein, Heather Hanson & Thuy-vy T. Nguyen. The authors; two parts Solitude researcher and one part science communications expert, showcase the powerful benefits that solitude can provide, alongside the rigorous research they have collected. The book is a compelling and useful tool. It uses firsthand perspectives from research subjects across the world to understand how humans process solitude, and how in turn we can harness it benefits.  

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Written by Netta Weinstein, Heather Hanson & Thuy-vy. Nguyen

What Solitude is  

Step onto a bus or train anywhere in the UK and you’ll see people having completely different experiences. Some passengers are laser-focused on their phones or laptops, some are chatting with companions or strangers while others may have their eyes closed or they’re staring out the window. This last category of people are of great interest to solitude researchers. Are those people watching the landscape go by having a solo experience? What’s going on in their minds? What are they getting out of that time when they’re not engaged with others? 

As solitude researchers, we’ve learned that we all have different relationships with being alone. For some of us, solitude is desired but hard-won. Maybe we want to stay in quiet, still moments when we don’t need to respond or react, but instead we are constantly socializing, at home or work. For others, solitude is a familiar, but unwelcome, companion. When others are not around, we’re tempted to pick up our smart devices and join ‘outside’ conversations to fill the void.  

Why Research Solitude? 

In our new book, Solitude: The Science and Power of Being Alone, we talk a lot about why we research and write about being alone. We three authors come from very different cultural and intellectual backgrounds but share a love of time alone for its ability to help us sit with our feelings, connect with ourselves (and feel essential emotions) and recenter our busy lives. At the same time, we know what it’s like to be on the other side of the fence feeling discontent in solitude. 

“What motivates researchers like us to study solitude? Mainly, it was to match perception with reality.”

What motivates researchers like us to study solitude? Mainly, it was to match perception with reality. Years ago, there wasn’t much recognition in scientific literature of everyday solitude, those moments that exist in everyone’s lives whether spending whole days alone or just appreciating a quiet moment every now and then. Solitude always had a big “S” in science and society but we knew from personal experience that it could have a small “s” – but still with big impacts. We wanted to know what happens in those ordinary moments alone and how do we make them our own? 

Time alone is something we’ve been doing all of our lives, to greater or lesser degrees, yet our relationship with it can be complex. That has much to do with the societal stigma around a desire to fly solo and the messages we get about how important relationships are (which are true, but that also includes our relationship with ourselves). We shine a light on histories, traditions, and cultures that have molded  our perceptions of solitude and we drill down on why it’s often erroneously conflated with loneliness, a distinctly negative emotion which has long been a public health concern. 

“In truth, we’re often in solitude, though we may rarely stop to appreciate it.”

In truth, we’re often in solitude, though we may rarely stop to appreciate it. Through our research we’ve learned there are many kinds of solitude, including the stereotypical ‘pure’ solitude lived alone with our thoughts in a yogi-like state (ideally, on a mountaintop somewhere). But our interviews with study participants have also helped us realize we can be in solitude alongside loved ones, in a cafe or walking down a busy street, or doing everyday tasks at home.  

The Benefits of Solitude 

Since solitude is not inherently good or bad, how we experience it depends in large part on what we make of it. Regardless of how we get there, research shows us that solitude can be a powerful state, brimming with opportunities, if we can learn to cultivate it. In Solitude, we talk about the important role solitude plays in our daily lives and the book is filled with stories of everyday people–our findings from years of interviewing thousands from around the world–who taught us about its many potential benefits.  

“benefits span the spectrum from solitude being a time for calm and reflection, and emotional regulation, to moments of awe and flow.”

Those benefits span the spectrum from solitude being a time for calm and reflection, and emotional regulation, to moments of awe and flow. Research studies have begun to isolate situations when solitude is not lonely and identify conditions when solitude benefits our mood and psychological well-being. Together those studies, and the stories gathered from solitude role-models around the world, guide us in considering our personal relationship with solitude, and the little things each of us can do to harness it in our own lives. 

 The Cambridge Festival is an interdisciplinary festival held in the heart of Cambridge. Its aim is to illuminate a selection of some of the fantastic ideas and research that flows through Cambridge each year. Netta Weinstein, Heather Hanson & Thuy-vy T. Nguyen will host an in-person event at the Cambridge Festival on Thursday 21^st March 2024. Book your free place.