There are quite a number of health benefits of marriage which include long life, lower stress levels, better sleep, and good sex.
With rampant news about the death of women (girlfriends, wives and mothers) which resulted from domestic violence and battering rocking the Nigerian marital space, the young ones coming behind are bound to think that being in a relationship or being married is a death sentence.
Who would blame a bachelor or spinster who has heard of such stories when they develop cold feet towards marriage? The impression created in their minds is that being married is evil. Then the aged ones would wonder what has gone wrong with the marriage institution? We hear “during our time, it wasn’t like this.”
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One wise man in offering his solution to wife battering and death resulting from domestic violence said there are certain men or women that can never amount to anything in life or find fulfillment except they are married. He went further to prove his point by recalling stories of successful women and men who died and their whereabouts unknown or even couldn’t be given proper burial rites because they lacked spousal support that could have stood by them during their trials.
Research and studies have continued to point to the fact that there are several positive benefits of being married. One research indicates that it’s good for more than just the heart while another says your relationship is linked to your bone health too. Another study indicates that happily married couples are more likely to enjoy better mental and physical health than their not-so-happy counterparts.
Another interesting study reported that tying the knot ‘lowers your risk of becoming alcoholic’. The assumption is that being married will drive one contrary to the findings of this new study.
According to scientists, marriage protects against alcoholism as it lowers the risk by 59 percent in men and 79 percent in women. However, married people are at risk of an addiction to booze if one partner already has a history of alcoholism or cheating is involved.
Another study also reported that death rates among unmarried persons are higher with the difference markedly more noticeable among single men.
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Marriage could be beneficial if it’s blissful, functional, supportive of family relationship and not a dysfunctional one where there is quarrel, fighting, malice etc.
There are quite a number of health benefits of marriage which include:
Long life
You live longer. Research has continuously shown that by jumping the broom you are effectively adding a couple of extra years to your life and in some instances, up to ten.
Marriage reduces the risk of heart attack
A 2013 study suggests that marriage reduces the risk of acute coronary events and death in both men and women of all ages.
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Encourages safer behaviour
Married couples are considerably less likely to engage in risky behaviour such as substance abuse or dangerous driving, according to a top psychologist in Ohio when he observed that people’s propensity for indulging in dangerous pursuits drops significantly once they have moved in together and falling yet further after they tie the knot.
Reduces incidence of strokes
Married men were found to have lower chances of fatal strokes than single men.
Lower stress levels
Getting hitched can drastically reduce the chances of becoming overly stressed or depressed. In a report published by University of Chicago, it was found
that having a strong, long term bond can alter the hormones in a way which inhibits stress.
Higher chance of recovering from major surgery
It guarantees a better outcome if a spouse is ill. A supportive spouse could be the key to recovering from an invasive medical procedure such as coronary by-pass surgery, a 2011 study suggests.
Less chance of developing mental illness
It enhances sound mental health. Married men and women are considerably less likely to develop severe mental illness according to a 1991 American study.
Better sleep
If your marriage is a happy one, you sleep better than your dissatisfied or single counterparts. Marriage can be good for your sleep if it’s a happy one.
Good sex
These health benefits of course do not exclude the fact that marriage is full of financial, emotional, social and psychological support, love and understanding which can be described as characteristics of a healthy marriage.
An unhappy marriage is one that is full of crises and stress and there are problems that come along with it or could aggravate problems like depression, greater incidence of high blood pressure, substance/drug abuse, stress, cortisol inflammation and chemical increase and in some instances like we have experienced in Nigeria, spousal abuse and in extreme/worst cases, death.
It is not just that one is married but the kind of relationship that exists in the marriage.”
■ Additional material from www.telegraph.co.uk
