Benefits Of National Solitude Day

National Solitude Day is a holiday celebrated every year on March 26th. This day can be an opportunity to take a break from the social activities and everyday pressures of life and the rest of the world.

Solitude Day can be a chance to find solitude, which may help you gain perspective, rest, practice mindfulness, spend time in silence free from outside influences, and reflect on your everyday life.

In modern times, many people may become uneasy when they experience a lack of stimulation. Others may have trouble finding time to be alone due to various factors, such as work, social demands, young children in the house, family events, or other matters. In some cases, seeking alone time on Solitude Day or otherwise may seem counterproductive if you’re a busy, aspiring professional. 

Significant time alone when you crave the company of others can be detrimental to your health, which is a key difference between solitude and loneliness. However, if you develop socially meaningful connections in your life, alone time on Solitude Day and beyond can positively impact physical and mental health.  

Health benefits celebrating Solitude Day 

Solitude, when used in moderation and paired with a secure social system, can have several health benefits, including but not limited to the following. 

Solitude may help introverts recharge

People with introverted personalities are often labeled “shy,” while extroverted personalities are often labeled “outgoing.” However, introverts can be outgoing and confident, while extroverts can be withdrawn and reserved. The difference between introverts and extroverts is that extroverts are energized by spending time with others, while introverts gain more energy from spending time in solitude.

Solitude might be necessary for introverts as opposed to being a drag on their emotional capacity. People who want to take time to rest and recharge on Solitude Day and throughout the year may be more mentally and physically healthy if they can regularly spend time in solitude and listen to their instincts. 

Solitude may improve sleep quality

With the modern “go-go-go, busy, always-on” energy and expectations of modern US society, people may struggle to find an opportunity to spend time in solitude with their thoughts. For some, their only time with their thoughts could be when trying to fall asleep. If you only think before bed, you might have so many thoughts that you become overwhelmed, and this mental activity could keep you awake or cause insomnia. 

Solitude can help you work on yourself

You may benefit from time in solitude to discover and understand yourself better on Solitude Day. People who are experiencing mental health conditions or symptoms, like depression or social anxiety, could have low self-esteem. They may have habits worsening these symptoms, such as negative self-talk and catastrophizing.

In these situations, receiving social support and being connected to your community may benefit your healing. However, it can also be crucial to spend time alone to reflect on what is happening in your life and what changes you want to make moving forward. 

You can spend time in solitude in several ways to benefit your mental health. Whether it's through writing in a journal, listening to the sound of nature, reading self-help books, meditating, or going to therapy, you can use self-care strategies to help you better connect with yourself. 

Mental benefits of boredom on Solitude Day

People often don’t associate the word “boredom” with positive qualities. However, slowing down and removing yourself from stimulation may be valuable. Once you learn to enjoy solitude beyond Solitude Day, the word “boredom” may no longer describe what you may have once felt when alone. Peace, quiet, and rejuvenation may better describe your mental state after getting comfortable with boredom. 

Stress reduction

At first, being in solitude with nothing to do and no one to talk to could seem significantly stressful. Research has found that some people reported being more willing to receive an electric shock than to spend six to fifteen minutes in solitude with their thoughts. 25% of female participants and 67% of male participants willingly shocked themselves in the process of conducting the study. 

However, additional studies have found that people who actively choose to be alone regularly report higher levels of relaxation and reduced overall stress. Some scientists hypothesize that even when people are around those they trust entirely, they may want to modulate their behavior to meet specific social expectations. It may be beneficial to be in solitude to give yourself a break from social modulation.  

Like the sleep improvement mechanism discussed above, being alone could also relieve stress about confronting your thoughts and feelings instead of letting them fizzle under the surface. When you frequently give your emotions room to breathe and come to the surface, you may have fewer challenging emotions to work through because you’re working on them as they arise. 

Increased creativity

If you constantly spend time around other people, you may spend more brain energy on being social and potentially have less time for focus and creativity. Socializing isn’t necessarily bad for creativity, as you may find other people inspiring and use them as a sounding board to process your creative ideas. However, for some creative pursuits, introspection may be necessary. 

Alone time and lack of stimulation can help you tap into your own emotional state, sparking a new idea that could be a source of creativity and inspiration. If you find that pure solitude does not get your creative juices flowing, you could try being “alone in a crowd.” For example, you could write in a busy coffee shop or draw sketches in a popular park.

The ability to check in on yourself and your goals

In one study, many participants preferred to shock themselves rather than be alone with their thoughts because they were afraid of what their thoughts might reveal. When people are always on the move, they might be able to distract themselves from more significant problems lurking in their lives.

It can be normal to sometimes get out of sync with yourself and end up in careers, relationships, or life situations that don’t bring you joy. However, it may be beneficial to slow down for a moment and take a deep breath to check in on how you’re feeling. Being distracted might not allow you to think long enough to evaluate where you’re at and how to move forward. 

Dissatisfaction, unease, and sadness may surface when you take time for introspection, away from constant distractions and external stimuli. While these feelings can be unpleasant, they may offer moments of self-discovery in which you can assess whether the life you want is consistent with how you are living. Reflecting during solitude can help you realign your sense of purpose and understanding of what truly matters in life.

Building on the mental health benefits of Solitude Day

If you have been spending intentional time alone and have realized through your solitude that you want to make life changes, speaking to a professional could be beneficial. Licensed mental health counselors can help you deepen your reflection processes and develop strategies to align your life more closely with your dreams and desires.  

Some people live busy lives. It can be challenging to juggle work, school, family obligations, alone time, and therapy. You may free up your schedule by looking into online therapy through a platform like BetterHelp as an alternative to traditional in-person appointments. With online therapy, you can meet with a therapist from the comfort and convenience of your home, eliminating the commute and time spent in an office waiting room. In addition, you may utilize unique resources like group sessions. 

Research indicates that online therapy may be as effective as in-person therapy when working through life challenges. One study found that online therapy helped clients process sadness and anxiety-related thoughts that may surface when self-reflection has revealed gaps in one’s life. Therapy could help you work through any realizations that have surfaced through intentional solitude and give you tools to deepen your connection to yourself.