Everyone experiences loneliness at one time or another. But prolonged feelings of loneliness are toxic for your health, much less happiness, experts say.

On February 8 UCLA researchers reported that lonely people are at higher risk for certain types of inflammatory disease. The new study follows another from last year, published in the journal Psychology and Aging, that found a link between chronic loneliness and accelerated signs of aging and high blood pressure.

Problem is, the world is a lonely place, according to media reports. A study last year by Britain's Mental Health Foundation reported a massive 53 percent of UK people have reported feeling depressed because of loneliness. Earlier this month, ABC News reported on the "national crisis" of loneliness in Japan, likely due to prolonged lifespans. According to Newsweek magazine, Americans are three times lonelier today than they were 20 years ago.