Those with long-term relationships have less stress

The old man in center and his wife likely have less stress

 Editor -  - "Wow, they just celebrated nearly 60 years of marriage.  Isn't that something?  How can people manage to stay together that long.  It must be hard."

The conversation, overheard while standing in the grocery line, is the kind we often hear from single people.  It turns out, however, that people who have lived together for a long time may find it easier in life, at least when it comes to stress and long-term health.

Those people in long-term committed relationships, whether married or not, have longer lives and better stress protection, according to research.
 
This reinforces what has been learned over time, that marriage can substantially prolong life.

In a study done at the University of Chicago, Professor Dario Maestriplieri explains how having a long-term bond actually alters hormones in a fashion that reduces stress.
This is important information given the fact that other university studies have accented the fact that stress can lead to dementia.

 “These results suggest that single and unpaired individuals are more responsive to psychological stress than married individuals, a finding consistent with a growing body of evidence showing that marriage and social support can buffer against stress,” Maestripieri writes in his article entitled, “Between- and Within-sex Variations in Hormonal

Responses to Psychological Stress in a Large Sample of College Students.”

The research used as study participants masters' degree students that included both men and women, with these students asked to play certain games, made stressful by directions given, then had hormone levels and changes measured..

“Although marriage can be pretty stressful, it should make it easier for people to handle other stressors in their lives,” Maestripieri said. “What we found is that marriage has a dampening effect on cortisol responses to psychological stress, and that is very new.”

WebMd offers specific reasons why people in long-term relationships tend to live longer than others and with less stress.  They say it is because the couples help one another feel socially connected.  Furthermore each has a health "helper," someone to offer reminders and encouragement.  And finally there is less risk-taking behavior and substance abuse.

A couple who has lived nearly 60 years together are likely to be in their 80's, or even older.  This alone is indicative of how both, still alive and together, are living out the truth of the research and that life may get better in many ways the longer people stay together.