You have a good life as a single person. You've got a great social life, career and family. You enjoy all the perks that come from being single. And all is good … until science rears its ugly head and shuts down all your good feelings about singledome.
There's no greater buzzkill than science when you've finally made peace with your single status. There's no double that being single sucks, but even worse, being single can be dangerous, and here are 5 reasons why:
1. Married people and people in committed relationships have less health problems.
According to a study by the Journal of the International Association for Relationship Research, researchers found that compared to their married counterparts, single men and women have higher levels of depression, anxiety, mood disorders, adjustment problems, suicidal behavior and other forms of psychological distress.
The study tested their hypothesis, that analogous to married individuals, college students in committed romantic relationships experience greater well-being than single college students.
In a sample of 1,621 college students, individuals in committed relationships experienced fewer mental health problems and were less likely to be overweight. Also, those in a committed romantic relationship decreased problematic outcomes largely through a reduction in sexual partners, which in turn decreased risky behavior.
But what about happy weight? I don't know if we want to base anything on college students, as they live in their own kind of world.
2. People in relationships live longer.
In a study conducted by UCLA researcher Robert Kaplan, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community, Kaplan came to this conclusion: "Current marriage is associated with longer survival. Among the not married categories, having never been married was the strongest predictor of premature death."
Even more alarming, in this study he says that social isolation is a contributing factor in death from heart disease. In other words, loneliness can kill your heart.
3. People in serious relationships are happier.
Well, they know they're healthier and are going to live longer, so they have that going for them. But what does science have to say?
A 2015 study from the UK's Office for National Statistics entitled "Measuring National Well-Being: Our Relationships," asked participants to rate life satisfaction from 0 (not at all satisfied) to 10 (completely satisfied). While 58 percent of those surveyed who were in serious relationships (either married or cohabiting) reported high life satisfaction (either 9 or 10), 21 percent of single people reported the same.
4. Single people don't sleep through the night.
I'm no scientist, but a lot of married people and people in relationships don't sleep through the night, especially if they're older and have various health issues that make them get up to go to the bathroom.
An article in the Wall Street Journal featured the findings of Dr. Wendy M. Troxel, an assistant professor of psychiatry and psychology at the University of Pittsburgh.
Dr. Troxel published a paper that claimed that women in long-term relationships had better sleeping patterns than single women. One hypothesis suggests that by promoting a feeling of safety and security, shared sleep in healthy relationships may lower levels of cortisol, a stress hormone.
5. If you stay single too long, you'll probably get divorced anyway.
Don't forget that study from Nicholas H. Wolfing that has everybody agitated about how you need to get married before the age of 32; each year after that increases the odds of divorce.
As long as you're happy and have a fulfilling life, try not to stress out about your relationship status. While science may tells us that being single isn't good for us, stress isn't good foranybody.
H/T http://www.yourtango.com/
