The start of a new year typically inspires most individuals to recommit to developing healthier lifestyles like regular exercise, consuming more fluids, or improving their diet. However, it seems that people in relationships, particularly married guys, have an advantage regarding health.
Married people are healthier than unmarried individuals
According to researchers, it is down to partners influencing each other’s health. Interestingly the issue of gender has a role to play in this. In the past, most health and marriage studies focused mostly on married women and men. However, recent studies have been studying the relationship between same-gender partners, those that are gender diverse, and those of the same biological sex.
One explanation of the relationship between health and marriage has to do with the self-selection act. In simpler terms, healthier and wealthier individuals than average are more inclined to marry wealthier and healthier partners. On the other hand, women and men that are less wealthy and healthier are unlikely to marry.
Marriage gives couples a feeling of belonging, greater possibilities for social interaction, and fewer feelings of being alone. This connectedness or how much one engages in social interactions, significantly impacts one’s well-being, reducing risk factors for anything from cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure to suicide and mortality.
Body inflammation related to marriage
The other link between health and marriage involves inflammation of the body. According to research, there is a close link between a lack of close relations and loneliness with inflammation or how the body reacts to disease, injury, or illnesses. Although inflammation is necessary for healing, severe inflammation is related to cancers, autoimmune diseases, arthritis, and heart disease.
Even though single persons certainly have very important connections, a successful marriage naturally offers greater chances for intimacy and sociability, confirming the theory that marriage is related to inflammation.
Additionally, married individuals are likelier to live two years more than their unmarried counterparts. The longevity is attributed to partners’ influence on each other on healthy behaviors.
