Anglican Mainstream

From iMAPP

People in happy marriages have lower blood pressure than singles with supportive social networks. Unhappily marrieds are the worst off. The study is titled "Is There Something Unique about Marriage? The Relative Impact of Marital Status, Relationship Quality, and Network Social Support on Ambulatory Blood Pressure and Mental Health." The authors conclude, according to this press release:
"There seem to be some unique health benefits from marriage," said Holt-Lunstad, whose findings will be published March 20 in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine. "It’s not just being married that benefits health – what’s really the most protective of health is having a happy marriage." . . .

Holt-Lunstad, a psychologist who studies relationships and health, arranged for 204 married and 99 single adults to wear portable blood pressure monitors, mostly concealed by their clothes, for 24 hours.

The monitors recorded blood pressure at random intervals throughout the day – even while participants slept. Each participant’s blood pressure level was recorded about 72 times.

With the monitors recording blood pressure both day and night, the researchers could see that blood pressure for married adults – especially those happily married – dipped more during sleep than happens with singles.

"Research has shown that people whose blood pressure remains high throughout the night are at much greater risk of cardiovascular problems than people whose blood pressure dips," Holt-Lunstad said.

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