Marriage: It’s good for the body, and good for the soul! At least, that’s what new research has indicated. Studies show that married people are not only happier and more secure, but mentally and physically healthier! In fact, happily married people statistically live longer and generally enjoy better health than unmarried peers. One vast, nationally representative sample showed that nine out of ten married middle-aged men make it to senior-citizenship, compared to six out of ten unmarried men! Being unmarried may even shave more years off a man’s life than heart disease, the number one killer of Americans.
As new research continues to be conducted, more and more health benefits of marriage are coming to light.
If a person is seriously ill or in the hospital, having a spouse can work wonders. In fact, married cancer patients are as likely to survive the disease as someone ten years younger with the same illness! Married surgery patients have been proven to have lower in-hospital mortality rates. Immune system specialists have discovered that married couples have much more effective immune systems.
Physical health isn’t the only aspect of one’s being that improves with marriage. Men and women who are married are much less likely to develop psychological conditions such as depression. Married people are less antagonistic, have higher self esteem and are more focused and goal-oriented. One recent long term study followed the psychological ups and downs of several men and women as they dated, got married, divorced, or stayed single. Marriage consistently provided the subjects with a serious increase in mental health – from self image to their sense of well-being. Not surprisingly, divorce caused significant drops in mental and emotional health, and self esteem tended to plummet. Married men and women are much less likely to commit suicide. Alcohol and drug abuse also decrease consistently with marriage.
Forty percent of married people, as compared to about twenty-five percent of single people, report a sense of general contentment with their lives. Only eighteen percent of divorced men and women claim to be happy after the split, a figure that conflicts with the common perception of separating to regain happiness. Furthermore, seventy percent of unhappily married couples who decide against divorce report being “very happy” with their marriage five years later.
Children benefit from happy marriages, as well. Children of married parents have been scientifically proven through long-term studies to live longer, and experience better health in middle age. Children whose parents divorce are much more likely to develop depression and low self-esteem. They are also more likely to engage in delinquent behavior, such as drug abuse or promiscuity.
The blessings of marriage do not end with companionship. In a society where many consider marriage to be the end of fun, excitement, and happiness, it is fascinating to consider these highly contradictory facts: Happily married people and their children live longer, happier, healthier, and more purpose-driven lives. They are more confident, less self-destructive, and generally more satisfied with their existence.