Thuy-vy Thi Nguyen’s research while affiliated with Durham University and other places

This research examined the nuanced experiences of "aloneness" among British first-time mothers, highlighting the impact of motherhood on new mothers’ solitude. Utilizing a mixed-method approach, for Study 1 we conducted qualitative interviews to explore mothers' perceptions and experiences of solitude and loneliness after becoming a mother. Study 2 tracked daily activities and emotional states through ecological momentary assessments to identify activity predictors of mothers’ daily emotional and psychological well-being. The findings indicate that motherhood significantly reduces opportunities for personal time due to constant childcare demands; however, Study 2 showed that personal time contributed positively to mothers’ daily mood. Interestingly, personal time does not require separation from the baby; such time overlaps with time for rest and relaxation, time for media-related activities, and quality time with the baby. As such, the study underscores the importance of supporting first-time mothers in finding quality personal time to mitigate the challenges of new parenthood.

Silence shared between partners is a rich and understudied feature of romantic relationships. Within relationships, silence may be experienced in meaningfully different ways as a function of the motivations underlying it. These internally rich experiences may affect partners differently than silence that occurs spontaneously (i.e., without intentional initiation). In four studies, we tested the motives of silence and corresponding affect and relationship quality, operationalized through psychological need satisfactions and inclusion of other into self. Studies relied on complementary methods to explore the phenomenon of silence, namely cross-sectional, daily diary, and experimental designs. Findings across studies showed that intrinsically motivated silence was felt with more positive affect and less negative affect, and that relationships were closer and more need satisfying during intrinsically motivated moments of silence. Introjected and externally motivated silences, on the other hand, were often linked to more negative affect and lower relational outcomes. Spontaneous moments of silence were not consistently linked to affect or need satisfaction.

Objective This research explored arousal levels as a motivating factor for solitude‐seeking. We hypothesized that solitude becomes more desirable when high‐arousal emotions were heightened and individual differences in extraversion and neuroticism would moderate this pattern. Method We tracked individuals' hourly experiences throughout a day. We assessed their high‐arousal positive (e.g., excitement) and negative emotions (e.g., tension), whether they were alone or with others, and their preferred situation at the time of the signal. We gathered 4338 surveys from 362 participants, with 103 participants completing all hourly surveys. Results Preference for and incidence of solitude changed throughout the day. Contrary to our hypotheses, lagged analyses did not indicate high‐arousal emotions predicting reports of being alone an hour later. However, individuals were more likely to express a preference for solitude while experiencing high‐arousal negative emotions, and less so while experiencing positive emotions. Younger individuals display stronger preference for solitude during experiences of high‐arousal negative emotions. Extraversion and neuroticism did not moderate these patterns. Conclusions The results highlight the distinctive appeal of solitude as a space for young adults to deal with negative emotions. We discussed how these findings are connected to existing literature and implications for future research.

What makes us durable in alone time is a combination of background, personality, mindset, approach, and mental tools. It may come as no surprise that adaptable, confident, and optimistic people are better at alone time, because those traits are important for resilience in any context. But we are also learning that those who are able to stop and introspect, who are generally curious and self-reliant, flourish when they’re alone. Perhaps more importantly, how we perceive solitude can make or break that time. Being able to see value or meaning in it, even when we must be alone, is critical. Feeling that we have interesting and challenging activities in that space also makes it more enjoyable.

Research on the topic of being solitary in nature – as opposed to the well-documented effects of simply being in nature – is still very new. But we can speculate about what may be going on when those two states are combined. In our Solitude Lab, we’ve heard from adventurers of all calibers that the combination of solitude and nature can foster a kind of supercharged state that seems to enhance the benefits of both nature and solitude while conferring entirely new benefits of it own. Here we discuss nature’s effects on people, soft fascination, and attention restoration theory.

What exactly we mean when we say the word “solitude” is still up for debate in the research world. Defining solitude using the experiences of ordinary people – and not just the musings of the poets and prophets we met in the last chapter–was an important objective in our research and writing. In an attempt to create a definition that we and other researchers could share, we had to pin down its basic components, to build a better picture of the nature and conditions of solitude as many people experience it. When and how does it happen? Where does it happen and why? When is it good or bad, or neither? With the generous input of many people from around the world, we were able to describe solitude in an accurate and inclusive way.

Solitude is unique to each person but there are patterns we have observed that we believe shed some light on what kinds of changes we should be aware of and what those mean for well-being in that space during different phases of our lives. Across the lifespan, we tend to seek and tolerate time alone in a nonlinear way throughout our mortal journey from childhood to older adulthood. How we spend that time seems to matter quite a bit in terms of our contentment in solitude, as do the nature of our relationships beyond solitude. Solitude is like a garden in different seasons, what we sow and what we reap changes over time, and we have to be certain to plant what’s most likely to grow and thrive.

In solitude, as with any human experience, choice is an important driver. We know that humans, in general, like having some decision-making capability, or at least the perception of it. Positive time spent in solitude stems from the desire to be with ourselves, and we talk about how to exercise choice to be more comfortable and stronger in solitude. Simply wanting to avoid other people does not unlock its benefits and opportunities. The fact that you choose to devote your morning walk, drive to work, or shower time to solitude is what matters in building an enduring practice of everyday solitude. In this chapter, we also consider involuntary solitude, like prisoners in solitary confinement and pandemic lockdowns. This chapter also looks at what it means to have a "preference for solitude," the importance of understanding motivation in why we’re choosing time alone, and what it means to have the right framing and expectations for solitude.

What role do settings play in positive solitude? What value do quiet and stillness have? In this chapter, we talk about sensory overload in the modern world and about honoring our senses in solitude. Beyond anecdotal appreciation of the value of quietude is now a growing body of scientific evidence of its importance. Here we talk about quiet as a phenomenon that has been well-studied in recent decades. Those findings on the "science of quiet," in some cases, echo centuries of lived experiences in certain parts of the world and, most recently, the mounting benefits of quiet have gone mainstream.