According to the World Health Organisation, about 16% of people worldwide are facing social isolation and loneliness. In 2024, 22% of UK adults said they felt lonely at least some of the time.
But that loneliness is not shared equally. Younger generations seem to be lonelier than older ones, while almost half of people in poverty say they feel lonely compared to 15% of high earners.
And new data from the Belonging Forum’s 2026 Belonging Barometer has found that “people reporting poor mental health are five times more likely to feel lonely” than those with good mental health.
What did the research find?
The survey, conducted with Opinium, involved 10,000 UK adults.
It’s part of the Belonging Barometer, which the Belonging Forum says is designed to look at “how connected people feel to others, their communities, and their sense of purpose”.
Roughly one in five people with poor mental (21%) or physical health (20%) say they have no close friends,
Only 27% of those with poor mental health say the things they do in life are worthwhile, compared to 85% in good mental health,
Only 33% of people with poor mental health said they feel a strong sense of belonging to their neighbourhood, compared to 65% in good mental health,
Nearly two-thirds (64%) of people with poor mental health reported high anxiety yesterday, vs 29% of those in good mental health,
Though 76% of those with good mental health say they are satisfied with their friendships, this falls to 52% among those reporting poor mental health,
Two in five people with poor mental health report feeling lonely often or always, compared to 3% of people in good mental health.
That means about 2.9 million people in the UK with poor mental health say they feel lonely often or always – “roughly the population of Greater Manchester”.
“Health and belonging are closely connected”
Kim Samuel, founder and chief architect of the Belonging Forum, said: “Health and belonging are closely connected. When people struggle with their physical or mental health, they are much more likely to experience loneliness, weaker friendships, and higher levels of anxiety.”
She added, “These findings show that belonging is not only about community or identity. It is also about wellbeing. When people are unwell or facing barriers in their daily lives, it becomes harder to build and maintain the relationships that help us be connected and supported.
“A society where people cannot participate fully in social life is a society where belonging becomes harder to sustain.”
Additional comment provided by Peter Duris, CEO of Kickresume.
Burnout is alarmingly common in UK workplaces. It’s expected to affect about 65% of workers (20% of employees have taken time off for work-related stress).
That can be caused by high workload, low pay, a lack of support, and unrealistic expectations.
But if you ask Peter Duris, CEO of Kickresume, some of those people are experiencing something called a “competence hangover,” too.
What is a competence hangover?
It’s a form of burnout that happens when a worker feels solely, or mostly, responsible for keeping their workplace afloat.
You might feel that standards would drop to unacceptable levels without you, or that serious mistakes would be made in your absence – leading to immense perceived pressure.
“If you feel responsible for other people’s well-being at work, you might be more likely to push yourself further, taking on extra tasks or working later, potentially to the point of burnout,” said Duris.
Who is most likely to get a “competence hangover”?
“You can develop this issue in any kind of job, but there are some career paths where people might be more vulnerable to a ‘competence hangover,’” Duris told HuffPost UK.
“This includes jobs where workers can find themselves under a lot of emotional strain,” like medicine, teaching, and social work.
And, Duris added, personality matters too.
“Studies have shown that people who are highly conscientious are more likely to take on extra work, describing themselves as feeling exhausted and emotionally drained.
“Because they’re seen as reliable, these employees are often asked by managers to take on extra tasks on top of helping their coworkers. Managers should be mindful of this to avoid overloading their teams.”
How can I tell if I have a competence hangover?
Per Duris, some signs include:
Feeling exhausted,
Coming back to work after the weekend as if you haven’t had a proper rest,
Struggling with decision-making can feel harder,
Low creativity,
Feeling resentful of coworkers.
“On the other hand, if you’re a manager who’s worried about one of your team members, it might come out in a one-to-one meeting, so make sure that you’re making time for these catch-ups,” he added.
When should I leave because of burnout?
Competence “hangovers” are a form of burnout that can make you feel like you need to switch jobs.
“Sometimes a couple of days off can help take the pressure off a bit. But people whose exhaustion is deeper than this might find themselves needing to use sick leave, or consider leaving their job,” he said.
“Even if you love your work and you’re a high performer, it’s not worth risking your wellbeing and your health.
If you have a supportive manager and workplace, he added, relying on the people you work with more could help to ease your stress.
“But if you can’t rely on the other people at your company to pick up the slack after you’ve been giving it your all to keep everything going – to the point that you’ve burned out – it might be time to start thinking about a change of direction,” he ended.
If you’re regularly waking up feeling groggy, tired or even anxious and on edge, you’re far from alone. I’m regularly there with you.
While I often attribute it to just being a parent (I was woken up a grand total of four times last night alone), some days I’ll get a solid seven hours and still wake up feeling fatigued.
And there might be another explanation (or five) as to why I – and many like me – wake up so groggy each day.
According to hormone health expert Mike Kocsis, of Balance My Hormones, the first 60 to 90 minutes after waking are perhaps the most hormonally sensitive of the whole day.
This period of time is when your body determines how focused, alert and resilient you will be for the next 12 hours, he says.
Understandably, then, small habits and routines in the morning can either balance that process or completely ruin it.
Here are just some of the habits you might want to avoid going forward…
1. Hitting the snooze button repeatedly
I am a serial snooze-button-pusher – and it turns out, I’m really not doing myself any favours. While it might seem like a fairly harmless habit on the face of it, Kocsis suggests it creates hormonal chaos.
“Each time your alarm goes off, the brain slightly wakes, releases adrenaline and cortisol, then is pushed back into sleep again,” he says. “Over time, this stop-start cycle breaks down the body’s natural cortisol (the stress hormone) awakening response.”
You’re basically giving yourself a series of false starts, which can leave you feeling mentally sluggish, irritable and groggy.
His advice for chronic snoozers is to “set your alarm 10 minutes later and allow one short snooze only”.
“This prevents repeated adrenaline spikes and helps cortisol rise more naturally,” he explains.
2. Starting the day with a doomscroll
Reaching for your phone as soon as you wake might feel like second nature, but the onslaught of notifications, emails and news headlines you’re met with are all signalling urgency, which your brain processes as a stress cue, triggering cortisol.
This might leave you feeling wired early in the morning, but will subsequently be followed by a crash in motivation, focus and mood later in the afternoon, says Kocsis.
“Rather than banning your phone completely, delay overstimulating content,” he advises morning scrollers.
“Keep notifications off and avoid any news or emails, however, allow music or a timer. This stops cortisol from peaking too early while still giving routine.”
3. Reaching for caffeine immediately
Coffee in bed might sound delightful, but health and wellness expert Andy Briggs from XO Fitness says your body actually produces its own natural “wake-up” hormone (cortisol) around 30-45 minutes after you wake.
“Hitting caffeine too early can mess with that process, make coffee less effective, spike stress levels, and even leave you dehydrated,” he explains.
His advice is to start with water instead, as after 6-8 hours without fluids, your body needs rehydrating.
If you do drink coffee or breakfast tea first thing, Kocsis advises making sure you stand or walk whilst doing so, as “gentle, slow movement buffers caffeine’s effects on cortisol and improves insulin sensitivity”, which ideally keeps those pesky jitters at bay.
Photo by Laura Chouette on Unsplash
If you wake up feeling groggy, you might want to switch up your morning routine.
4. Skipping breakfast (or waiting too long to eat)
Again, guilty. After getting two kids out of the door in the morning, and then kickstarting the day’s work and meetings, sometimes I’m not eating breakfast until about 10am.
Kocsis notes this can place the body under unnecessary stress: “When the body doesn’t receive energy in the morning, it instead raises cortisol levels to keep blood sugar balanced.
“This may feel like you’re functioning on adrenaline, you’re technically awake but not calm or stable. Over time, this pattern can cause anxiety, irritability, cravings and a sharp dip in energy mid-morning. You can start to feel shaky, stressed, short-tempered, extremely hungry and mentally foggy all before lunch.”
His advice? Use food to signal safety. Even a small amount of protein and fat first thing sends a strong signal to the brain that resources are there, he says. “This lowers the need for cortisol to increase and helps the adrenaline-fuelled ‘wired but tired’ feeling mid-morning to settle.”
5. Showering ‘too hot, too fast’
If you love a roasting hot shower to wake you up first thing, it’s worth noting this might not be doing you many favours.
“Very hot water causes blood vessels to constrict rapidly, which can drop blood pressure and set off compensatory cortisol release to keep you upright and alert,” Kocsis says.
You might notice a hot shower leaves you feeling light-headed or drained, which can carry into the morning. “This can be particularly impactful for people who already experience low blood pressure, fatigue or hormone sensitivity,” he continues.
If you do love a bit of heat to start your morning (and who doesn’t during the winter months?), his advice is to finish your shower with 15-30 seconds of slightly cooler water.
“This stimulates alertness and stimulation without triggering the stress response linked with intense temperature changes, leaving you awakened rather than drained,” he notes.
6. Starting the day in absolute silence
If you wake up in total silence with zero conversation, music or background noise going on, you might actually be helping your brain stay in a half-asleep state.
“The auditory system helps trigger wakefulness to the brain,” says Kocsis. “With stimulation, dopamine and cortisol can rise more slowly, delaying mental wakefulness.”
Listening to music, a podcast or even regular household noise can help prompt healthier hormone signalling, he offers.
7. Keeping the lights off
Briggs suggests staying in the dark after you’ve woken up confuses your body clock. “Natural light tells your brain it’s time to wake up, improves mood and helps regulate sleep patterns,” he explains.
“Open the blinds as soon as you can or, if it’s still pitch black outside, things like a sunrise alarm clock can help by gradually lighting the room without the shock of an overhead light.”
Kocsis adds: “A clear light helps cortisol peak early and decline effectively, reducing the 3pm slump and evening restlessness.”
