Married Men Are Less Likely to Die than Single Men

It’s easy to assume that the stress of married life reduces a man’s lifespan. With a household to run, a wife to pamper, and kids to send to school, it isn’t hard to guess why married men’s hair easily turns gray.

However, a recent Harvard study provides statistics that disagree with this long-held notion.

Apparently, men who have tied the knot have better health than never-married men. They live healthier and longer, so long as they live under the same roof as their wife.

Marriage Is Good for the Health

Compared to their single peers, family men tend to pay more attention to their health. They eat more nutritious food, smoke less, and have regular medical checkups. They may have become more health conscious due to their lifetime commitment to taking care of their wives and children.

When you have a healthy, happy marriage, your immune system responds positively. Stressed people have high cortisol release, which harms the body’s immunity. Consequently, happily married men have less cortisol release which accounts for a stronger immune system.

Marriage also has positive effects on a man’s mental health. According to the same study, they have a lesser risk of Alzheimer’s disease. They’re also less likely to get depression since they’re most likely to experience higher life satisfaction, especially during retirement.

Marriage also protects men’s hearts quite literally. They’re less likely to die from cardiovascular disease than divorced or single men. Even if they do, they have higher chances of recovery, hence having a lower death rate.

So long as the marriage remains happy, most husbands’ hearts also stay healthy.

The Wife’s Role

It is a famous running joke that marriage and women will be the end of men. However, the joke’s on these people because having wives actually adds more years into their husband’s life.

With wives dragging men into yearly checkups, they are most likely to have their health monitored. If their wives say they must follow their doctor’s recommendations, they will. Some of them don’t necessarily care, but they won’t risk receiving an earful for disobeying their wives.

Those with smarter, more educated wives are also found to have lower health risks. They are less likely to smoke, get obese, not exercise, or have high cholesterol, hypertension, and coronary artery heart disease.

And although women are more emotional than men, the same study stated that men are more likely to suffer from a loss. This is where their wives’ presence holds the most significance in their health.

When their wives die first, they’re most unlikely to recover from grief. Regardless of whether they have pre-existing medical conditions, married men are still more likely to succumb to grief from their wives’ departure than the other way around.

The death of a spouse impacts a man’s health since they are now left to tend to themselves. Along with social isolation, most of them just don’t survive the drop in care or the transition.

Married Men Wins

At a glance, single men seem happier living their best lives. Many would think they’re winning against men who have decided to settle down.

However, if we talk about longevity, married men are clearly winning in life. They enjoy the “marriage advantage” where they live more fulfilling, happier, healthier, and way longer lives.