Why Solitude Can Be Good for You

Chancellor’s Professor Robert Coplan‘s (Department of Psychology) research has been gaining media attention recently. In addition to his talk for MeWeRTH, The Power and Paradox of Solitude: Making the Case for the Benefits of Being Alone, he has been featured on several radio shows and the podcast At Your Best.

Listen below:

• 580 CFRA, Ottawa at Work with Patricia Boal: Why solitude can be good for you, and what makes it different from loneliness. Spending time alone can have benefits for both mental and physical health. That beneficial solitude differs from outright loneliness, which has taken on added weight in post-pandemic lockdowns. Robert Coplan, a professor of psychology at Carleton University in Ottawa, joins Patricia Boal to talk through what those benefits can look like and how to differentiate between solitude and loneliness.

• AM 800 CKLW, Loneliness is harmful to your health, but solitude is beneficial. In a world that’s constantly connected virtually, the notion of solitude seems elusive, even daunting, and being alone is often thought of in a negative context. But solitude is not the same as loneliness – and when people choose to spend time by themselves, it can actually be beneficial, according to Robert Coplan, a professor of psychology at Carleton University in Ottawa.
  
  
• At Your Best Podcast, Find out the benefits of spending time by yourself with Carleton University professor of psychology Robert Coplan.