In a time of appreciation for loved ones, the celebration of companionship can be tarnished by the deeper sting of loneliness. It isn’t a light topic or something that’s often discussed, but it is actually plaguing our nation.

According to a study by health insurer Cigna, Americans are greatly impacted by the debilitating clench of loneliness. They found that among the 20,000 surveyed, almost half reported sometimes or always feeling alone, a quarter reported feeling as if there is rarely or never someone that really understands them, and two in five reported that they sometimes or always feel their relationships are not meaningful. The plight of young people is even worse: the data showed that Generation Z was the most lonely of all age groups.

Conclusions about the causes of the loneliness epidemic are largely speculative at this point. A culture of toxic masculinity could influence the issue in men, as PhD Niobe Way explored with twenty years of interviews. After listening to so many stories, Way has concluded that when society deems emotion weakness, it’s difficult to develop the vulnerability critical to meaningful relationships.

There’s also evidence that social media has a substantial role. A study at Tel Aviv University revealed that increasing Facebook use was linked to an increase in social comparison and subsequent decrease in happiness. Meanwhile, at San Diego State, research found that adolescents that spent more time on screens were more likely to report mental health issues. Although use of technology is only one in a sea of interrelated factors, the data has demonstrated the stark reality of what it does to our minds.

We may think of loneliness as a temporary lapse in general wellbeing, but it has been proven to be fundamentally harmful to our overall physical health. Steve Cole from UCLA found that loneliness influences the activity of white blood cells, creating chronic inflammation that cause the lonely to “fall at increased risk for cancer, neurodegenerative disease and viral infections”. Loneliness isn’t just a feeling; it’s a force that can reduce the length of our lives.

Yet the same data from Cigma that demonstrated the scope of this dilemma also provides a basis for solving it. The study showed that a balance between the benefits of sleep, physical exercise, time with family, and socializing with friends decreased an individual’s probability of being lonely. An insufficiency in any of these areas, however, can throw off the equilibrium and increase loneliness. In the chaos of a high school schedule, it might seem like there’s just not enough time in the day to fit in this balance. But if we spend hours scrolling through Instagram every day, maybe there’s more time than we think.