What happens to your brain in the absence of social contact? - Terry Kupers episode artwork

EPISODE · Sep 4, 2026 · 9 MIN

What happens to your brain in the absence of social contact? - Terry Kupers

from TED-Ed · host TED-Ed

Explore the effects that isolation has on your body and brain, and how a lack of interaction and activity can impact our well-being.--Everyone needs time to themselves, and peaceful solitude has stress-relieving benefits. But when being alone is forced upon you, the effects can be surprisingly extensive. And though different people experience distinct effects, symptoms tend to become more severe and persistent the longer one’s isolated. So, how exactly does isolation affect your body and brain? Terry Kupers investigates.Lesson by Terry Kupers, directed by Camille Bovey.Support Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-happens-to-your-brain-without-any-social-contact-terry-kupersDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-happens-to-your-brain-without-any-social-contact-terry-kupers/digdeeperAnimator's website: https://camillebovey.comMusic: https://www.wonderboyaudio.comSound design: https://www.campstudio.co----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Jay M, Constantino Victor Delgado, Andrea Galvagni, Andrew Tweddle, Laurel-Ann Rice, Fernando A. Endo, Helen Lee, pam morgan, sarim haq, Gerardo Castro, Michel-Ange Hortegat, Enes Kirimi, Amaury BISIAUX, ND, Samyogita Hardikar, Vanessa Graulich, Vandana Gunwani, Abdulmohsin Almadi, AJ Lyon, Geoffrey Bultitude, Mi Mi, Thomas Rothert, Brian Elieson, Oge O, Weronika Falkowska, Nevin Spoljaric, Sid Chanpuriya, Anoop Varghese, David Yastremski, Noah Webb, Roberto Chena, Oliver Koo, Luke Pisano, Andrea Gordon, Aleksandar Donev, Nicole Klau Ibarra, Jesse Lira, Ezekiel Raui, Petr Vacek, Dennis, Olivia Fu, Kari Teffeau, Cindy Lai, Rajath Durgada Manjunath, Dan Nguyen, Chin Beng Tan, Tom Boman, Karen Warner, Iryna Panasiuk, and Aaron Torres. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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What happens to your brain in the absence of social contact? - Terry Kupers

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