Benefits of Marriage: It's Not All in Your Head

Something that really amazed me when I learned about it was that there are a lot of physical and mental benefits of marriage. Literally marriage makes us well. This was shocking to me in a lot of ways because a lot of what you hear is how "marriage is a constant headache," "marriage is a pain in the neck," and other things like that. People have such a negative view of marriage, but the truth is that marriage is literally beneficial to our minds and bodies.

There have been a lot of studies done, and all the research comes back saying the same thing...marriage is good for us in a lot of ways. These studies go on to specify that these benefits are found only in marriages and not couples who merely cohabitate. How exactly is marriage so beneficial to us? Check out the list below (these are 1st marriages compared to singles, cohabitating couples, or divorced people):

• Married couples have lower blood pressure
• Financially married couples are better off and have a higher standard of living.
• Married people smoke less.
• Married people have lower levels of stress.
• Marriage decreases the likelihood of mental illnesses, specifically depression & substance abuse. (Depression is 3 times greater in women who divorce & substance abuse is 2 times more likely in men who divorce)
• Married people display higher levels of happiness.
• Higher life expectancy
• More likely to overcome illnesses, especially life threatening ones
• Married people are less likely to engage in "risky behaviors" and more likely to engage in healthy ones.
• More frequent sex and better quality of sex
• Better overall health
• Higher satisfaction levels with spiritual & religious life.

Another thing to note are the benefits of a married couple on their children. Check out all of those benefits (again, these are in reference to 1st marriages compared to singles, cohabitating couples, or divorce people):

• Children are less likely to experience a premarital birth or conception in future relationships
• Higher education levels & better academic outcomes
• Less likely to experience emotional & behavioral problems
• Less likely to use drugs
• Less child/parent conflicts
• Children are more likely to have financial stability (60% of people under the poverty guidelines are divorced women and children)
• Better physical and emotional health
• Less occurrences of child abuse
• Lower infant mortality rates

As you can see, marriage has a lot of physical, financial, and emotional benefits to both spouses as well as the children involved. Study after study has been done to research these findings, and consistently they show numerous and astounding benefits to individuals who choose to marry and stay married. It's not in your head, marriage equals happier and healthier lives.