Men should not be afraid of marriage, because a happy marriage is the key to their health and longevity. Married men live longer and remain alert and active into old age.
“At one time, Socrates told me: “Get married without fail. If you get a good wife, you will be happy. Bad — you will become a philosopher. I don’t know which is better, ”the same Munchausen reasoned.
It is possible to argue about whether it is better to be happy or to be a philosopher, but now we know one thing for sure: with a good wife, a man has every chance of maintaining health into old age and living longer.
What research has shown
The baseline study on this topic included 127 people, and its results show that, in general, married men are in better health than those who are single, widowed, or divorced. The life span of those who have a permanent partner is longer.
Those who marry after the age of 25 are in a better position than those who married earlier
The longer a man stays married, the more advantages he has over the unmarried. Japanese scientists report that unmarried men are three times more likely to die from cardiovascular disease than married men.
Fun fact: A 1980s study found that men had a lower risk of dying from coronary heart disease if their wives had no higher education. However, the 2002st century has changed the picture, and the works of 2009 and XNUMX now show an inverse relationship: the better the education of the wife, the less the threat for the husband to die from coronary disease. In today’s world, smart wives promote heart health.
As for oncological diseases, there is a different relationship — it is not clear how the fact of marriage affects the appearance of cancer, but married men are more likely to receive timely treatment and, therefore, live longer.
Family life is also very beneficial for mental health — married men have a lower risk of depression, they are more satisfied with life in retirement, their cognitive functions are better, and their chances of getting Alzheimer’s disease are lower.
With regard to sexually transmitted diseases, widowhood increases the risk of catching STDs in men, but not in women. Perhaps because it is easier for a widowed man to find a partner than for a woman.
«Men are more vulnerable»
Since women generally live longer than men, it is natural that they are more likely to be widowed. However, researchers from California found that the loss of the second half affects men much worse. A long-term study of 12 married couples found that women who outlive their husbands live longer and are generally healthier than widowed men.
The death of a wife increases the likelihood of disease and disability in the surviving spouse. This, according to Harvard physicians, proves that men are more vulnerable than women, when they are alone, their eating habits worsen, they monitor their physical condition worse and often find themselves in social isolation. It, in turn, also contributes to an increase in the death rate of single men.
Is it time for the registry office?
Is the improvement in health related to formal marriage, or is it the presence of a permanent partner that affects? According to scientists, both are true. However, if the marriage is unhappy, then frequent conflicts provoke the production of stress hormones — for example, adrenaline, which increases blood pressure.
The production of cytokine proteins, which are associated with inflammatory processes, is launched, therefore, in divorced men, the level of inflammatory markers is higher.
Behavioral factors are also important: single, widowed, and divorced men eat differently than married men, exercise less frequently, smoke more, drink excessively, and engage in risky activities. And married people, on the contrary, lead a more orderly and healthy lifestyle, regularly receive medical care, including preventive care.
Obviously, if you are married but unhappy, it makes sense to work on the relationship. Those who live alone should be more attentive to their health, take care of themselves — eat right, monitor their health and visit doctors in a timely manner.