Marital Bliss

First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage. But, that's not all. A study published in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine shows that marriage may also have the added incentive for good health. The study conducted by Julianne Holt-Lunstad, PhD, professor of Brigham Young University followed 204 married couples and 99 singles. The participants wore a portable blood pressure cuff and 72 readings were taken within a 24 hour period.

Interestingly, the single adults and unhappily married couples had high blood pressure readings. The study also found that unhappily married adults had higher blood pressure than happy couples and single adults. Readings taken throughout the night indicated that married couples had lower blood pressure overall than singles; the dip in pressure was even greater for happily married adults. Research has shown that having higher blood pressure at night leads to various cardiovascular problems.

Why is there a disparity in blood pressure among singles and married couples?

Holt-Lunstad and her colleagues concluded that being happily married seems to offer some protective health benefits. These beneficial findings among happy couples are attributed to spouses being able to recognize signs of health issues in each other which promote frequent visits to the doctor. Also, married couples provide emotional support during good and bad moments and encourage better eating habits that contribute to improved health. Surprisingly, singles with a strong network of friends did not have better blood pressure readings in this study.

Besides what your spouse does to keep you on the right track the brain may play its own role in contributing to good health. The brain stimulates a series of signals that release cortisol in dire moments when stress levels rise. The problem with this system is that if you're constantly in overdrive these stress hormones will eventually take a toll on your body leading to problems like central obesity, thyroid dysfunction and decreased bone density.

Researchers have found that being married somehow reduces the use of these "fight or flight" stress response hormones. To put this theory to the test, neuroscientist James Coan and his colleagues at the University of Virginia conducted a little experiment. The brain activity in married women was monitored using a functional magnetic resonance image (fMRI). During this experiment the married women were told that they were going to be given a painful electric shock. The fMRIs noted a sharp decline in the activity of the hypothalamus in women whose husbands held their hands than in women who felt unsupported in their marriage or held the hand of a stranger during the experiment.

Marriage, especially happy ones, based on studies show that the union between two people may offer more than a life partner who you've vowed to love and honor until the end of your days. Scientists are now uncovering that marriage is a potential boost to your health for many reasons. Holt-Lunstad would like to study couples attending marriage counseling. This study she hopes may determine whether the marital improvements of couples' therapy will have a positive impact on health. And don't worry for those living the single life, good health practices such as cooking meals that don't involve microwaving your frozen dinner, exercising and limiting your alcohol intake while you're staking the singles scene are some of the things that will help contribute to healthier living. Good health, after all, still has something to do with personal lifestyle choices.

Sources: http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSSP20111820080320?sp=true, http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1704686,00.html