Why Marriage is Good for You Mary-Catching Denney

According to the Office of National Statistics, married couples live longer, healthier, happier lives. "There's no evidence that the intense, passionate stage of a new romance is beneficial to health,” says Dr Harry Reis, co-editor of the Encyclopaedia of Human Relationships. "People who fall in love say it feels wonderful and agonising at the same time, but all those ups and downs can be a source of stress.... There is very nice evidence that people who participate in satisfying, long-term relationships fare better on a whole variety of health measures”. Even though divorce rate is high today, 90% of young adults wish to marry. Below are 5 reasons the benefits of marriage are desirable.

1) Having a companion in life improves the quality of life, meaning a happier life. Quality of life has been proven to be measured more by family and companionship status than by wealth. A happier lives leads to less depression and mental problems, so a happier life has physical benefits.

2) Having a long-term companion through marriage reduces stress. According to the University of Warwick, stress levels are reduced because marriage helps people develop good habits. Less stress means lower blood pressure and better chances of surviving a heart attack. The support and love given by a spouse after a the other has had a heart attack is what the British Cardiovascular Society claims to be the reason 14% of married people are less likely to die after a heart attack.

3) Marriage lowers the risk of domestic violence for both men and women. According to a 1994 Justice Department report on the National Crime Victimization Survey, it is understood that "single and divorced women were 4 to 5 times more likely to be victims of violence in any given year than wives; bachelors were four times more likely to be violent-crime victims than husbands."

4) Marriage has been proven to be associated with the longevity of life for the couple's children. A study on highly advantaged children (middle-class whites with IQs of at least 135) through their seventies showed that parent's divorce decreased children's life expectancy by four years. Forty-year-olds from divorced homes were 3 times more likely to die from all causes than 40-year-olds whose parents stayed married. Therefore, can be said that having your parents be married improves your life and health.

5) Marriage can lead to better bone marrow density. A study conducted by UCLA showed positive outcomes on BMD (bone marrow density) for married mean and women. Married men had better outcomes than men who were widowed, separated, divorced or never married. Men who married after the age of 25 had the best results of the group. For women, happy marriages showed results on BMD while marriage alone did not show an association in BMD results. Not only does marriage benefit bones but also benefits one's chance of not getting pneumonia or developing cancer- according to a New York Times Study.

Sources:

1-2 and introduction found at http://www.webmd.boots.com/sex-relationships/features/marriage-it-really-is-good-for-you?page=2

Opening photo found at https://goo.gl/images/M4tMsN

Family photo found at https://goo.gl/images/FfRcBF

3-4 are found at https://www.city-journal.org/html/why-marriage-good-you-12002.html

Hospital photo found at https://goo.gl/images/8B3kAa

5 is found at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/22/marriage-health-study_n_4646624.html

Grid photos sources:

https://goo.gl/images/puDNvT

https://goo.gl/images/E64Jef

https://goo.gl/images/j2NXO9

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