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People with happy spouses may live longer
You’ve probably heard the saying, “Happy wife, happy life.”
According to my husband, it’s one that’s extremely accurate.
If I’m happy, his life is going well too. If I’m not, then he’s more likely to be stressed and unhappy as well.
But new research shows that old adage goes both ways…
A study recently published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science has found that it might be more accurate to say, “Happy spouse, long life.”
Here’s why…
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Life satisfaction and longevity
Prior studies have suggested that having a happy spouse leads to a long marriage, while studies have shown that people who are happier and more satisfied with their life are likely to live longer. This led researchers at Tilburg University in the Netherlands to wonder if there could be an intersection in those two measurements and what part your spouse’s happiness could play in your longevity.
They examined data from a survey of about 4,400 couples in the United States over the age of 50 for a period of up to eight years – everything from happiness and perceived partner support to physical activity level, education, and financial means.
And, they found that regardless of other variables, if you have a happy spouse, you’re much more likely to live longer.
“The data show that spousal life satisfaction was associated with mortality, regardless of individuals’ socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, or their physical health status,” says study author Olga Stavrova, a researcher at Tilburg University in the Netherlands.
The team’s research showed that participants who had a happy partner at the beginning of the study were less likely to pass away over the next 8 years compared with participants who had less happy partners.
In fact, according to the team, your spouse or partner’s happiness is a better predictor of your longevity than your own life satisfaction!
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Happiness and lifestyle choices
Luckily, thanks to all of the data they collected, the researchers were also able to isolate exactly why having a happy spouse is so important to how long you live and it all boiled down to one thing…
When your spouse is happy, they are much more likely to make good lifestyle choices, including eating a better diet and getting more exercise. And, when they eat better and exercise more, you are more likely to as well.
As Stavrova puts it, “If your partner is depressed and wants to spend the evening eating chips in front of the TV — that’s how your evening will probably end up looking, as well.”
Their findings support that conclusion showing that higher partner life satisfaction was related to more partner physical activity, which corresponded to higher participant physical activity and lower participant mortality.
So, if you want to live a longer, healthier, more active life, the key could be ensuring your spouse is satisfied with their own life.
And, if you want to give your spouse another reason to go out of their way to make you happy, take you on a date night, send you flowers or just spend more time with you, like they did when you were first married, do what I did and send them this new research.
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Sources:
- People with happy spouses may live longer — Association for Psychological Science
- Life Satisfaction Linked With Mortality Risk in Older Adults — Association for Psychological Science
By Dr. Adria Schmedthorst
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