You must have heard this age old joke: why do married men live longer? The answer: they don’t! It just feels like it!
As much as men would like to admit that it’s true, the wives will have the last laugh when you see what scientific research has proven – on average, married men live longer than their single comrades. Being married can considerably improve both your physical and mental health.
Healthy Marriage – Healthy You
According to TIME magazine, a 2006 paper that tracked mortality over an eight-year period found that people who never married were 58% likelier to die during that time than married folks were. For instance, the expected lifespan on average of a married man with heart disease or cancer is nearly 4 years longer than an unmarried man with a healthy heart and no cancer. Married men are more likely to visit the doctor, exercise regularly, eat home-cooked food more often, eat healthier and lead less stressful life than their single counterparts – all thanks to the wives. Add to all this, the drastically reduced likelihood of getting STDs by simply having one sexual partner. The health advantages for women are similar.
According to TIME magazine, a 2006 paper that tracked mortality over an eight-year period found that people who never married were 58% likelier to die during that time than married folks were. For instance, the expected lifespan on average of a married man with heart disease or cancer is nearly 4 years longer than an unmarried man with a healthy heart and no cancer. Married men are more likely to visit the doctor, exercise regularly, eat home-cooked food more often, eat healthier and lead less stressful life than their single counterparts – all thanks to the wives. Add to all this, the drastically reduced likelihood of getting STDs by simply having one sexual partner. The health advantages for women are similar.
Healthy Marriage – Healthy Mind
As is the body, so is the mind. Research shows that unmarried men rate nine times higher for risk of major depression. Anxiety, depression and agitation were also higher in single women than in married women. A study published in 2008 by Healthy Psychology journal showed that married men get relief from stress as soon as they come home while working wives are able to de-stress similarly but only if they feel they have a happy marriage.
As is the body, so is the mind. Research shows that unmarried men rate nine times higher for risk of major depression. Anxiety, depression and agitation were also higher in single women than in married women. A study published in 2008 by Healthy Psychology journal showed that married men get relief from stress as soon as they come home while working wives are able to de-stress similarly but only if they feel they have a happy marriage.
Here are some statistics to reflect on:
- If you are married, consider yourself to be in an age group 10 years younger than you actually are.
- A married cancer patient has 8-17 percent more chances of successful cure than unmarried patients.
- The risk of suicide doubles in men who are divorced or separated from their wives.
- A married smoker can be expected to live as long as a divorced non-smoker. Additionally, single or divorced men are more likely to smoke whereas married men are more likely to quit and have chances of doing so successfully.
- According to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), married men and women have a decreased risk of substance abuse, consume less alcohol and use fewer drugs like marijuana or cocaine.
Marriage is no easy sailing – it definitely needs a lot of work. And not all marriages are happy, which can have detrimental effects on health. But once you have worked out the secret to your own happy marriage, it can keep you healthier and living longer than your single or divorced friends.
But here’s the final word, as tribute to all the wives – as stated in Time magazine, psychologist Janice Kiecolt-Glaserof the Ohio State University College of Medicine said, “women are really the mental- and physical-health housekeepers for a marriage. ”
MANU
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