Eating alone could make you unhappy: Survey

A new study has found eating by yourself can cause you to feel unhappy.

A survey conducted in the UK wanted to learn how people can live a better life on a daily basis. The information collected revealed why some people are unhappy.

Eating alone was strongly linked to unhappiness. People who eat alone scored 7.9 points lower than the national average, compared to people who have company while eating.

People with anxiety, depression, panic attacks or compulsive behaviour scored 8.5 points below the average figure.

Researchers also found eating with others people had one of the highest positive associations with well-being. Face-to-face contact improved happiness levels. However, texting or other interaction on social media did not have the same impact.

"The quality of our relationships and spending time together physically, not digitally, can go a long way towards improving how well we’re living: nothing beats the power of simple human interaction," Mike Coupe, group chief executive officer at Sainsbury, which was part of the investigation, is quoted as saying by The Independent.

Adding, "Instead of adding to our day-to-day pressures with numerous digital interactions, we should make time to get together, eat together and share together."