Despite the advancements of technology, loneliness is a real issue for many people in our ever-connected society. This feeling of isolation can have a devastating impact on our health. But it's important to make a distinction between being alone and feeling alone. Contrary to what we might initially think, spending time on our own does have its benefits. Taking a break from socialising can have positive effects on our emotional well-being and it can even improve the quality of our relationships with others. Researchers have also discovered that people who enjoy spending time on their own have a higher IQ than those that prefer to socialise often. But how can we capitalise on it as Christians?

Here are three ways that we can use the time we spend on our own to benefit us.

Tune out all the distracting voices and focus on God's
Solitude can give us the clarity we need to discover what God is telling us. While it can be useful to surround ourselves with people whose opinions we value, there comes a time when it can all get a bit much. By taking some time out for ourselves, we can tune out the many other voices which can prevent us from identifying and listening to God's voice among the chaos.

Meet with God alone
Church, prayer groups and bible study meetings are all great ways to foster spiritual growth, but before we know it we can end up spending a lot of our time in God's presence while we're also in the presence of other people. When we remove the social element from the equation, how strong is our relationship with God? Do we still feel he's near when we're not in the company of anyone else? We can find out the answers to these questions and take steps to ensure that the answer to both is yes in the time we meet with God on our own.

Rediscover our own voice
Periods of "alone time" can facilitate self-discovery and inspire us to be comfortable in our skin and life choices. It's wise to seek counsel from people we trust but it can also have us regularly and unnecessarily second guessing our own judgement. Temporarily putting the views of our friends to one side as we prepare to make a big decision or as we struggle with a dilemma can remind us what path we feel God wants us to take and why He wants us to take it.

Improve your ability to empathise
Scientists have found that spending time alone can increase our ability to empathise with others. Although being alone doesn't necessarily mean feeling lonely, when we have the choice to take a break from socialising it can cause us to reflect on what it's like for people who don't have a choice in their solitude. As Christians, we should want to help others and show love and kindness at every opportunity. Having the capacity to understand the experiences of someone else from their perspective is invaluable in guiding us to respond adequately to their needs.