Sep 09
26
What’s More Healthy, Single or Married?
Married women everywhere must love the findings of this study, which I may have alluded to before because I’ve read about this study and theory many times in many publications, thinking that it does sort of make sense since I can relate it to my current comfort and happiness in my long term relationship with my fiance. The findings show that, despite that great allure to some men of terminal singleness, as in never getting married, ala George Clooney or the terminal bachelor (albeit he’s been married before as well, but single for most of his famous life), Hugh Hefner, married men are actually generally more happy and live longer.
Oh, they’re also generally healthier if you can believe that, even despite the fact that lots of men put on post marriage pounds just like women, our partners tend to help us stay healthier as well. Very interesting, especially for those men who like myself either now or formerly used to think that they wanted to stay single forever.
Furthermore, as if the other findings weren’t enough, it was found that single men are more likely to die earlier deaths, perhaps because of more risky lifestyles or a generally more lax look at the value of life? One can speculate what the reason for the increased death risk is, but that would be my guess, looking back at my swinging single days.
Also, a lot of these facts can be attributed to single men being isolated and possibly lonely, whereas marriage provides for constant companionship. I’ve found this to be totally true for myself. When I’m alone now, I tend to always think of when my partner will be coming home, what she’s doing, how I need to tell her certain things that happened in my day, and there’s a general feeling of emptiness that I feel if I’m going to be totally honest about it. If I lived like that all the time, I do think it would become detrimental to my overall health and mental well being.
Oh, as if the health and mental well being part isn’t enough, married men also tend to have more money than single men do. Perhaps this is because there are dual incomes, and married men tend to plan their financial futures better, maybe for the sake of their family, or because they have had dual incomes and two people saving through employee sponsored plans, who’s to say, but the generalization is definitely another reason to reconsider a life of bachelorhood.
