Did your doctor tell you about this way of lowering your blood pressure? I can't blame my low-quality marriage for my high blood pressure, I was already happily divorced.
Health benefits of being in love, according to researchers
John Murphy, MDLinx | February 12, 2020
Mr. Rogers once said,
“Knowing that we can be loved exactly as we are gives us all the best
opportunity for growing into the healthiest of people.” Who could argue
with that?
Love not only makes the world go ‘round—it can make you a healthier person.
Those wise words support the notion that love provides health
benefits, and not just in fuzzy, indefinable terms. Researchers have
shown that love offers a lot of specific, tangible health benefits, such
as lower blood pressure, reduced anxiety, improved immunity, less pain,
and longer life.
In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, here are a few of the health benefits that love provides, starting (appropriately) with the heart...
These researchers looked at married couples and singles, and found that people in “high-quality” (ie, loving) marriages had lower ambulatory systolic blood pressure than singles. Interestingly, both happily married couples and singles had lower blood pressure levels than people in “low-quality” marriages.
“Therefore, marriage must be of a high quality to be advantageous,” the authors noted. “In other words, one is better off single than unhappily married”—at least in terms of blood pressure, that is.
However, the researchers found a notable difference between long-term couples (who were together at least 10 years) and new couples: Love reduced anxiety in people in long-term romantic relationships.
“Results for long-term romantic love showed recruitment of opioid and serotonin-rich neural regions, not found for those newly in love. These systems have the capacity to modulate anxiety and pain, and are central brain targets for the treatment of anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and depression,” the researchers wrote. “Thus, present findings are in line with behavioral observations suggesting that one key distinction between romantic love in its early and later stages is greater calm associated with the latter.”
Love not only makes the world go ‘round—it can make you a healthier person. In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, here are a few of the health benefits that love provides, starting (appropriately) with the heart...
Love lowers blood pressure
In multiple studies, researchers have shown that people in happy, loving marriages tend to have lower blood pressure levels. But, the state of matrimony isn’t the key—it’s the loving part, researchers found in one study.These researchers looked at married couples and singles, and found that people in “high-quality” (ie, loving) marriages had lower ambulatory systolic blood pressure than singles. Interestingly, both happily married couples and singles had lower blood pressure levels than people in “low-quality” marriages.
“Therefore, marriage must be of a high quality to be advantageous,” the authors noted. “In other words, one is better off single than unhappily married”—at least in terms of blood pressure, that is.
Love reduces anxiety
People in long-term stable relationships can be just as madly in love as people in intense, new relationships, according to researchers who used functional MRI (fMRI) to analyze the brains of people in love.However, the researchers found a notable difference between long-term couples (who were together at least 10 years) and new couples: Love reduced anxiety in people in long-term romantic relationships.
“Results for long-term romantic love showed recruitment of opioid and serotonin-rich neural regions, not found for those newly in love. These systems have the capacity to modulate anxiety and pain, and are central brain targets for the treatment of anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and depression,” the researchers wrote. “Thus, present findings are in line with behavioral observations suggesting that one key distinction between romantic love in its early and later stages is greater calm associated with the latter.”
No comments:
Post a Comment