Recently available research suggest that married people live, typically, about 5 years longer than people who are not wed. So, does love help you live longer? While the numbers would seem to suggest love lengthens the lifespan, this is a subjective emotion and almost impossible to evaluate. On the other hand, the data can suggest a link between marriage and long life, thus there must be a link of some type.
Take a moment to think about the people that you love. Now take another moment to consider the people who love you. Ok, just how do you feel? Most people will feel great when thinking of their loved ones, and that may be one of why people in a loving relationship live longer.
While researchers aren’t completely sure, it would appear that being in love reduces stress. There is a developing amount of research showing how damaging tension can be on the body. It was once considered that stress only caused mental distress, but now it has been demonstrated to adversely impact the body on a cellular level.
If you have someone to blow off steam with will help you to eliminate life-shortening stress. However, this only works if you have complete trust in the person you love. Sometimes trust is quiet difficult, especially if you have been lied to in past relationships, but building mutual trust is the key to having a happy connection.
Maybe being in love also gives you a reason to live. Again, this isn’t the kind of thing that can be quantified by science, but ask anybody who has been around love, and they will explain how their life includes a purpose.
The cynics among us may say that love extends the lifespan because there is somebody always telling us what not to do. Imagine somebody screaming at their spouse to stop drinking, stop hanging out with their “loser” friends, or to drive far better. Sure, those actions may help you to live longer, yet a nagging husband or wife will only add to your anxiety levels.
Does love help you live longer is absolutely only part of the equation. See, it is not only just how long you live, it’s just how much you enjoy it. The need for companionship is a strong survival instinct, and it can be described as a driving force that makes life worth living. There are few things sadder than the picture of a lonely, elderly person staring blankly into space–no friends come to visit, no family, no one special to keep them company. It’s gloomy. Now imagine the same person, yet this time they are relaxing in a cozy chair close to their spouse of 50 years; one is knitting and the other viewing the evening news. All of sudden they stop doing what they are doing, they look at one another and smile lovingly, then they go back to the things they were doing. Which scene causes you to be happier?
Does love help you live longer? The research suggests that it may, and also experience says that love causes us to be happier as we get older.
Find out more about how to stay together and much more at our Relationship Rescue website.
