Happy Marriage, Happy Heart
Happily married people have lower blood pressure 1 unhappily married people or singles, a Brigham Young University study says.
On the other hand, even having a supportive social network did not translate into a blood pressure benefit for singles or unhappily 2 people, according to the study.
"There seem to be some unique health benefits from marriage. It’s not just being married 3 benefits health—what’s really the most protective of health is having a happy 4 ." study author Julianne Holt-Lunstad, a psychologist who specializes in relationships and health, said in a prepared statement.
The study included 204 married and 99 5 adults who wore portable blood-pressure monitors for 24 hours. The 6 recorded blood pressure at random intervals and provided a total of about 72 readings.
"We wanted to capture participants’ blood pressure doing whatever they normally 7 in everyday life. Getting one or two readings in a clinic is not really 8 of the fluctuations that occur throughout the day," Holt-Lunstad said.
Overall, happily married people scored four points 9 on the blood pressure readings than single adults. The study also found that blood 10 among married people—especially those in happy marriages 11 more during sleep than in single people.
"Research has shown that people whose blood pressure remains high throughout the night are at 12 greater risk of heart disease than people whose blood pressure drops," Holt-Lunstad said.
The study was published in the March 20 13 of the journal Annals of Behavioral Medicine.
The study also found that unhappily married adults have higher blood pressure than 14 happily married and single adults.
Holt-Lunstad noted that married couples can encourage healthy habits in one 15 such as eating a healthy diet and having regular doctor visits. People in happy marriages also have a source of emotional support, she said.