Want Your Spouse To Live Longer?

Study after study shows that married people live longer than their unmarried peers. They’re healthier too, especially the men. But why? Is marriage a side effect of good health or the cause of it? And does it really matter if the couple is married or do happy cohabitors reap the health benefits too?

A major survey conducted byHarvard researchersfound that married men are healthier and live longer than their single buddies. But is it that marriage causes good health or are healthier men more likely to marry? Researchers found that unhealthy men actually “marry earlier, are less likely to divorce, and are more likely to remarry following divorce or bereavement than healthy men,” according to their report. So it’s not that healthy men are more apt to marry, it’s that marriage is playing a protective role in a man’s overall health.

The bottom line is that marriage can indeed help you live longer, as long as the relationship is a healthy one. So if you’re happily married, it’s just one more reason to give your spouse a big hug. But if you’re not, you can still reap some of the health benefits enjoyed by married folks by taking good care of your own health (even if you have to nag yourself to get to the doctor for checkups and eat healthier foods,) and building up your support network of friends and family, people you can lean on when life gets stressful.

Information provided by: www.MNN.com and Harvard Health