A woman reading a book with a hot drink at home.

7 Science-Backed Benefits of Alone Time

You may feel like the only thing that counts at the end of the day is how productive you were. Maybe you find yourself in your bed going through the list of everything you accomplished: did you finish all your work, clean your house, prepare meals for your entire family, visit your relatives, make time for your friends, etc. However, what most people don’t realize is that nobody should be productive 24/7. You can’t do everything on your list every day and have time to socialize without making some time for yourself too. There are numerous advantages to spending some time by yourself with nothing but your thoughts. In the rest of this article, we will go over 7 science-backed benefits of alone time.

Alone Time Can Increase Your Empathy

When you spend a lot of your time in your small circle of friends, it’s easy to start to feel overwhelmed by their drama and day-to-day issues. You can begin to feel their negativity affect you more than it should. This could lead to many negative emotions building up towards people you consider closest to you. It makes you create a “me versus them” mindset and see everything as a potential conflict. However, spending time alone allows you to build compassion for them. Because you won’t be constantly exposed to their negativity, you won’t feel as vulnerable to it, and you’d feel more empathetic towards their problems.

Relaxed woman with a smartphone enjoying some time alone.

Spending Time Alone Can Help Spark Your Creativity

When you feel like you can’t get your creative juices to start flowing, maybe it’s time to pull back and enjoy some alone time. Being alone with your thoughts allows your mind to roam and explore new ideas you otherwise wouldn’t have thought of. That’s one of the main reasons why many writers, poets, and artists like to isolate themselves when they’re creating. 

Moreover, when you’re spending time alone, you may start to explore various new hobbies that can help you evolve your mindset and feel more creative. Good examples are reading, journaling, gardening, making something with your hands, etc.

Alone Time Helps You Get To Know Yourself

Being alone allows you to feel more at ease in your own skin. When you’re alone, you can make decisions without feeling the influence of others. You don’t think so much about what others want or think; you just focus on yourself. And this will help you have a better understanding of who you are as a person. 

This is one of the main reasons why people choose to move to another city all by themselves after an especially hard breakup or a traumatic event in their lives. Or, sometimes, people just move alone to a new city to rediscover themselves. Sometimes it’s just a byproduct of being alone; sometimes, that’s the goal. By moving to an entirely new and unknown place and being forced to spend time with yourself, you get a chance to start over on your own and really get to know yourself and your needs and wants.

Solitude Can Increase Your Productivity

Another one on our list of science-backed benefits of alone time is that solitude can help you be more productive. According to research, being surrounded by many people reduces productivity. In other words, people perform better when they have more privacy and time for themselves. This is why open floor plan offices, although popular, are not the best idea for employee productivity. They don’t allow employees to focus on their work. Instead, employees are forced to care about what they look and act like when doing their job instead of focusing on the task at hand.

Alone Time Can Reduce Behavior Problems In Kids

When you arrange some time for yourself, you’re teaching your children that it’s OK for them to be alone. You don’t have to constantly schedule play dates for your kids or follow them around the house to keep an eye on them. According to various studies, children who learn to be alone are often better behaved.

Spending Some Time Alone Is Good For Your Mental Health

According to one study, the capacity to withstand alone time was linked to higher levels of pleasure, life satisfaction, and stress management. People who can enjoy alone time are generally less depressed. They spend more time doing self-care activities and pay more attention to their feelings and wants. Even if you’re very busy, there are many tips on how you can make time in your schedule just for yourself.

Woman reading a book while taking a bath with candles and champagne.

Alone Time Gives You The Opportunity To Make A Life Plan

Spending time alone can help you ensure that all of the work you’re putting into your personal development has a reason. When you’re alone, you can reflect on your objectives, your accomplishments, and the other adjustments you wish to make in your life. You can decide what you want in life and check your progress to see if you’re on track to fulfill your life goals.

Final Thoughts

While it’s a good feeling to be a social butterfly and spend as much time with your friends and family, that’s not always the healthiest option for you. These science-backed benefits of alone time prove it’s important to take some time for yourself every once in a while. It will help you grow and improve as a person and feel much better about yourself. It doesn’t matter if you spend your alone time enjoying a hobby, meditating, journaling, or simply laying down in a nice warm tub. What is important is that you get away from others every once in a while and allow yourself to be selfish. Only focus on yourself and your needs. It can be highly beneficial, and it doesn’t even take too much time out of your everyday life.