Dealing With Loneliness in Academia
You moved to a different country to do your PhD. You are navigating a new language, a complex academic system, and a life far from family and friends. After six months of failed attempts, your 12-hour experiment finally works, but there is no one around to share your happiness with. What you might be experiencing in moments like these is something many researchers quietly face: loneliness. Academia celebrates independence and productivity, but behind the papers and achievements, this part of academic life is rarely discussed. In this article, we explore why loneliness is so common in academia, how the academic system can unintentionally nurture it, and what we can do to build stronger connections and a greater sense of belonging within the scientific community.
Why can academia feel lonely?
Loneliness in academia rarely stems from a single cause; it grows from a combination of structural, cultural, and personal factors. The academic environment itself is competitive, fast-paced, and intensely performative. Nearly half of researchers report feeling lonely at work, with PhD candidates and postdocs especially vulnerable (Sibai et al., 2019).
Part of our academic work also happens in solitude: writing, data analysis, grant preparation, and even teaching preparation can be isolating. Alone time can be a driver for creativity, yet easily brings loneliness when there is no social structure around the researchers (Jandrić, 2022; Sibai et al., 2019).
International mobility (often celebrated as a hallmark of academic success) opens doors to new labs, ideas, and collaborations, but it also brings personal, cultural, and linguistic challenges that complicate integration. Large cross-national data show that first-generation migrants report higher loneliness than non‑migrants, with young adults most affected (Delaruelle, 2023). Qualitative work with international students similarly highlights limited friendships with local students and a lack of community connections (Ivanova et al., 2025).
The inherent uncertainty of academic jobs exacerbates the problem. Short postdocs and frequent moves disrupt local bonds and incentivize overwork, a pattern repeatedly associated with isolation in early‑career researchers (Sibai et al., 2019). Over time, the cycle of building relationships and then leaving becomes emotionally exhausting; evidence from migration research shows that losing or lacking local ties is among the strongest predictors of loneliness, while transnational ties are less protective day‑to‑day (van der Linden et al., 2025).
Understanding all of these interconnected roots is essential to understanding why loneliness persists in academia and why solutions must extend beyond individual efforts to changes at the institutional level.
The hidden costs of loneliness
Beyond being widespread, loneliness in academia can have serious consequences for both mental health and academic performance. Research consistently links loneliness to serious mental health challenges (Zahedi et al., 2022). For instance, studies show that lonely students are significantly more likely to experience depression, anxiety, hopelessness, and even suicidal ideation. Among graduate students and PhD candidates, isolation is particularly pronounced due to the independent nature of research projects and limited peer interaction; reports indicate elevated risks of mental health disorders. Faculty and early-career academics face similar issues from professional demands, emotional labor, and departmental silos.
The effects of loneliness extend to academic performance. Chronic loneliness disrupts emotional balance, impairs concentration, motivation, and productivity. Students who feel lonely often procrastinate, struggle with engagement, and achieve lower academic outcomes (Bek, 2017; Mizani et al., 2022). Lonely individuals disengage, leading to poorer results. This is especially evident among international students, who face additional barriers such as cultural adjustment and language challenges, heightening loneliness and academic distress. Broader implications include reduced well-being, lower persistence, and higher risk of dropout. At its core, loneliness signals unmet social needs, eroding the sense of belonging essential for thriving in academia. While academia values deep focus, prioritizing meaningful connections is vital for sustaining mental health and performance.
In the next section, we explore practical ways to create and strengthen meaningful social connections and reduce loneliness within academic environments.
Building connections in academia
Addressing loneliness in academia requires more than encouraging individuals to simply cope with isolation; it requires creating environments that actively support connection. Evidence from intervention studies in higher-education populations suggests that approaches promoting social connectedness are particularly effective in reducing loneliness. A systematic review of interventions found that programs centered on social support groups, shared activities, and reflective practices were more successful than those based solely on psychoeducation (Ellard et al., 2023).
One practical way to foster social connectedness is through the creation of peer support groups and collaborative communities. Informal writing groups, journal clubs, or peer discussion circles can provide spaces where researchers share experiences, discuss challenges, and celebrate progress. Such environments help normalize the difficulties of academic life and reduce the sense of isolation that many researchers quietly experience.
Mentorship also plays a critical role in mitigating loneliness. Supportive mentors can provide not only academic guidance but also emotional support, helping early-career researchers navigate the pressures and uncertainties of academic life while building confidence and professional networks.
Equally important is the cultivation of inclusive environments where individuals feel valued and supported regardless of their background, career stage, or identity. Departments and institutions that prioritize inclusivity, open dialogue, and collaboration can help reduce feelings of marginalization and strengthen community bonds.
Participation in professional societies and scholarly networks can also help counteract isolation. Engaging with scientific communities through conferences, interest groups, and professional organizations allows researchers to build meaningful connections beyond their immediate institutions. Smaller communities and societies can be particularly valuable in fostering a sense of belonging. Fortunately, organizations such as the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) and communities within it, such as Plantae and Women in Plant Biology actively create spaces for connection, mentorship, and collaboration. These networks provide opportunities for researchers to share experiences, support one another, and build relationships that strengthen both professional development and social connection within academia. In a profession that can sometimes feel isolating, these communities remind us that science is ultimately a collective endeavor.
Small steps toward connection
Loneliness in academia is often treated as an individual struggle, but it is deeply shaped by the structures of academic life. While systemic changes may take time, small acts of connection can make a meaningful difference. Inviting a colleague from a lab next door for a coffee, offering help to someone who has just joined the group, or reaching out to colleagues can help create a more welcoming environment. Staying connected with friends and family outside academia is equally important. They may not fully understand the details of your research, but they can listen, and sometimes all we need is to be heard.
References
Delaruelle, K. (2023). Migration-related inequalities in loneliness across age groups: A cross-national comparative study in Europe. European Journal of Ageing, 20(1), 35. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10433-023-00782-x
Ivanova, P., Sun, Y., Li, W., & Bista, K. (2025). International students’ loneliness and social engagement: Narratives from the United States and Japan. Journal of International Students, 15(4), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.32674/y6hw0n78
Jandrić, P. (2022). Alone-Time and Loneliness in Academia. Postdigital Science and Education, 4(3), 633–642. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438-022-00294-4
Sibai, O., Figueiredo, B., & Ferreira, M. C. (2019). Overworked and isolated: the rising epidemic of loneliness in academia. Springer Nature Research Communities; summarized from Belkhir M., et al., 2019: Isolation in Globalizing Academic Fields: A Collaborative Autoethnography of Early Career Researchers. AMLE, 18, 261–285, https://doi.org/10.5465/amle.2017.0329
van der Linden, M., Politi, E., & Dangubić, M. (2025). The ties that bind and break: A natural experiment on the role of (in)stability in local and transnational social ties for loneliness among refugees. Journal of Refugee Studies, feaf064. https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/feaf064
Zahedi, H., Sahebihagh, M. H., & Sarbakhsh, P. (2022). The Magnitude of Loneliness and Associated Risk Factors among University Students: A Cross-Sectional Study. Iranian Journal of Psychiatry, 17(4), 411–417. https://doi.org/10.18502/ijps.v17i4.10690
Bek, H. (2017). Understanding the Effect of Loneliness on Academic Participation and Success among International University Students. Journal of Education and Practice. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Understanding-the-Effect-of-Loneliness-on-Academic-Bek/150c2af8a1c1b19c33498539b37ac948db2286a6
Mizani, H., Cahyadi, A., Hendryadi, H., Salamah, S., & Retno Sari, S. (2022). Loneliness, student engagement, and academic achievement during emergency remote teaching during COVID-19: The role of the God locus of control. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 9(1), 305. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-022-01328-9
Ellard, O. B., Dennison, C., & Tuomainen, H. (2023). Review: Interventions addressing loneliness amongst university students: a systematic review. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 28(4), 512–523. https://doi.org/10.1111/camh.12614
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About the Authors
Fatai Ayomide Akande
Fatai is a research assistant at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture Headquarters in Nigeria and a 2026 Plantae Fellow, specializing in advancing crop resilience to biotic and abiotic stresses through molecular breeding, genomics, and bioinformatics. His research focuses on understanding and improving Striga resistance and drought adaptation in maize using gene expression studies, marker discovery, and validation. You can find him on X: @AkandeAyomide20.
Deborah Ighalo
Deborah is a Ph.D. student at East Tennessee State University specializing in plant molecular biology and lipid metabolism and a 2026 Plantae Fellow. Her research focuses on the transcriptional regulation of oil biosynthesis in seed tissues using genes typically expressed in non-seed tissues, aiming to enhance the production of heart-healthy oils in plants.
Katarina Kurtović
Katarina is a Postdoctoral fellow at Centre Algatech, Institute of Microbiology, Czech Republic. She studies High light inducible proteins (Hlips) in the cyanobacteria and explores the reprogramming of regulatory pathways of cyanobacteria to improve the photosynthesis efficiency. Outside of the lab she teaches yoga, enjoys hiking, and a good book with a cup of tea and her senior cat. You can find her on X: @kat_kurtovic.
Alessandra Lombardi
Alessandra is a third year of their PhD in Uppsala, Sweden and a 2026 Plantae Fellow. They are studying evolutionary dynamics in plant speciation, and their research focuses on Capsella species as a model for the evolution of selfing.
