Do you remember that famous joke on marriage?
It goes like this; “Do married men live longer?, NO! it only seems longer!”
The jokes on them since it has actually been found that marriage reduces stress! Especially for men!
Now it is not just an old wife’s tale but research by Neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky who categorizes the effect of marriage on stress through the lens of social support and loss of control!
Of course the catchpoint here is that the marriage just like your body and mind MUST be healthy!
A healthy, supportive marriage reduces physiological stress by providing predictability, emotional outlets, and a strong buffering mechanism against chronic external stressors.
Conversely, a toxic or chronically conflicted marriage becomes a severe source of long-term psychosocial stress!
Sapolsky’s research reveals exactly how marriage and relationships influence our stress levels and biology!
The first is the Stress-Buffering Effect. In his work on primates and humans, Sapolsky emphasizes that one of the most effective ways to lower baseline levels of glucocorticoids (stress hormones like cortisol) is having reliable social support!
A supportive spouse provides a feeling of control, reliable predictability, and an outlet for frustrations. When facing external hardships (e.g., financial strain or career pressures), a strong marriage reduces the overall “wear and tear” on the body, famously termed the allostatic load!
Then again you have the Danger of Marital Conflict in which Sapolsky states how stress kills the relationship! According to Sapolsky’s findings in Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers, chronic stress impairs the brain’s hippocampus (which governs memory).
Under severe chronic stress, individuals become more self-focused and less empathetic. Instead of working as a team, couples may compete for resources and begin to view each other as adversaries rather than allies!
This unresolved marital tension generates sustained activation of the sympathetic nervous system. This keeps stress hormones elevated, which over time compromises the immune system and increases vulnerability to disease!
In fact the very act of Divorce and the subsequent Social Isolation due to the dissolution of a marriage creates profound psychological and physiological disruption.
The loss of this primary social bond often removes a fundamental buffer against chronic stress, occasionally accelerating the aging process and increasing the risk for stress-related illnesses!
So you want to live a long life? Get Married!
That was not a joke!
If you want real jokes then check out some movies by Salim Kumar…
He was effortlessly funny…
He will be missed…
Heartfelt condolences…
Om shanti…
ramadocblog 