It's comparable to the effects you see for the health benefits that are so often advocated such as exercise [to] keep your blood pressure under control.

The take-home message is that feelings of loneliness are a health risk, in that the lonelier you are, the higher your blood pressure. And we know that high blood pressure has all kinds of negative consequences.

The magnitude of this association is quite stunning.

The size of the effect is remarkable.

If physicians find a drug that's going to drop blood pressure by five [points], they're going to be very happy with that drug.

Although we breathe mainly through our nose when resting, during exercise when we begin breathing harder, the air coming in is predominately supplied via the mouth. It may improve airflow through the nose, but there is no evidence that it reaches the lungs and boosts performance.