Happy People Have Healthy Partners

Having a happy spouse may be related to better health, at least among middle-aged and older adults, according to new study. Involving 1,981 heterosexual couples in the US, middle-aged and above, the study helped researchers conclude that people with happy spouse were much likelier to be healthy than those with unhappy partners. This occurred above and beyond the person’s own happiness. This finding significantly broadens assumptions about the relationship between happiness and health, suggesting a unique social link. Simply having a happy partner may enhance health as much as striving to be happy oneself.

Previous research suggests happy people are generally healthy people, but researchers wanted to take it one step further by exploring the health effects of interpersonal relationships. There are at least three potential reasons why having a happy partner might enhance a person’s health, irrespective of one’s own happiness. Happy partners likely provide stronger social support, such as caretaking, as compared to unhappy partners, who are more likely to be focused on their own stress factors. Cheerful partners may get unhappy people involved in activities and environments that promote good health, such as maintaining regular sleep cycles, eating nutritious food and exercising.

Being with a happy partner should make a person’s life easier, even if not explicitly happier. Simply knowing that one’s partner is satisfied with his or her individual circumstances may temper a person’s need to seek self destructive outlets, such as drinking or drugs, and may more generally offer contentment in ways that afford health benefits down the road. The study examined the survey information of couples aged 50 to 94, including happiness; self rated health and physical activity over a six-year period. The results showed no difference between husbands and wives.