Life partner Woman +1.5 years Man +2.2 years
According to research, weddings are fun parties to go to, and marriage gives us longer lives. If you haven’t already proposed to the love of your life, maybe it’s time to get down on one knee today. I met Anna when she was 17, and now we have five children together.
In Björkliden, I got on one knee to propose at Silverfallet, which creates an oasis by Sweden’s cleanest lake, Torneträsk. We married in Hjärnarp and gathered family and friends from Norrland and Skåne for joy and fellowship. My honeymoon in South, Central, and North America brought adventure and memories. Life is a journey that is more fun together.
Everything valuable in life begins with daring to step out into the unknown and mustering the courage to embrace life’s possibilities. My good friend Bo Norberg, a doctor and researcher, advised me to do the important thing in life before it is needed - to do it while it is still uncomfortable - so that one’s chances and opportunities increase while the pressure decreases.
Make life a romantic comedy instead of a melancholy drama that ends in loneliness. Invest time and care in a life partner - you get better health and counteract loneliness and stress. Let the relationship provide security and emotional and psychological support. Having someone who cares about eating and living healthy, exercising, and visiting the doctor increases the chances and meaning of good health.
Positive effects: The study “Life expectancy and active life expectancy by marital status” in the USA showed that at age 65, married women lived 1.5 years longer and married men 2.2 years longer than their unmarried peers. It also showed that married women gained two healthy active years, and married men gained 2.4 extra active years. Married people lived longer and healthier lives.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/...
In Japan, researchers found that never-married men were 300% more likely to die from cardiovascular disease than married men. The Framingham Offspring study evaluated 3,682 adults over ten years and found that married men had a 46% lower death rate than unmarried men.
A study of 27,779 cancer cases found that unmarried people had more advanced cancer at diagnosis than married people. Available people were less willing to receive treatment than married people, and married people who received cancer therapy had a higher chance of survival. Married couples who receive a cancer diagnosis have a better chance of survival than those who are separated at the time of diagnosis.
The University of Miami examined 143,063 men with prostate cancer for 17 years. Married people survived 1.7-2.58 years longer than unmarried people. Researchers at Harvard and UCLA found similar benefits for bladder cancer.
Married people have a lower risk of depression and, as pensioners, a greater chance of being satisfied with life. Married people have better brain function and blood sugar levels and a reduced risk of dementia.
Marriage provides belonging, social commitment, and less loneliness. The social aspect reduces the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, inflammation in the body, and suicide.
Isolated men were found in a Harvard study to have an 82% greater risk of dying from heart disease, and the New England Research Institute found that 66% of men rely on their wives for their primary social support.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/mens-health/marriag...
Tip: Continue to do new, exciting things together as a married couple. Form fun memories together instead of letting the everyday routine cast its melancholic haze over life. Go to a hundred different restaurants once instead of going to the same restaurant a hundred times. Visit new places, theaters, concerts, fairs, and cinemas. Experiencing adrenaline and serotonin and forming fun memories keeps love alive.
Marriages often end because you get tired of each other, jump to new things, and do everything repeatedly. Instead, keep the fire alive so that new sparks crackle and remember why you fell in love with your partner in the first place. For every act of care and love you invest in your partner, you get a double return in longer, healthier, and more enjoyable lives and better health. When you share a joy, you don’t get 50% each, but 100% each and 200% together.
