Being single could help you live longer

 

people keep asking me why am I still single

Ladies, stop worrying about being single – it could actually help you live longer.

You’ve probably lost track of the number of times someone has asked “so when are you going to settle down?” or “I can’t understand why a lovely woman like you is still single.”

There seems to be no end to the fairly personal reminders that you aren’t in a relationship.

But then, why should you be if you are happy doing your own thing?

And it turns out there are several health benefits to being single so if you are enjoying it, embrace it.

The 2011 census data showed that 51 percent of adults in England and Wales were single.

It was a three percent rise from the 47 percent who were single in 2001.

So what benefits do you get from not being in a relationship?

If you’re single you have less responsibility to other people.

That means you can go out when you like, chat to people when you like and your social life is entirely in your hands.

In fact, figures from the American Bureau of Labor Statistics showed single people spent more time chatting to friends than married couples.

Single people spend an average of 12 minutes a day staying in touch with other people over phone calls and emails.

But married people only spend about 7.8 minutes doing the same.

“Singles spend more time in touch with other people, both in person and through other media.”

Socializing and feeling like you are part of the community is important for maintaining your mental health.

Single people have a lower body mass index (BMI.)

That’s according to a study published in the Journal of Family issued in 2015.

Experts found that single adults, no matter their sexual orientation, have a lower body weight.

On the other hand, those who live with a partner tend to have a higher BMI.

The Western Washington University study looked at 20 years data of more than 3,000 participants.

People experienced a sudden weight loss after a divorce and single people were thought the be skinnier because they wanted to look their best to attract a new partner.

You get more down time

Those who are single have more time to themselves to spend on holiday, learning, exercising, adventuring – whatever they want, really.

Single people spend, on average, 5.56 hours a day on overall leisure time, reports Business Insider UK.

Whereas married people only focus 4.87 hours of their day on leisure.

Several studies have found that leisure time reduces stress and therefore improves your mental health.

But there are other benefits too.

Studies have found that those who chose to spend their downtime partaking in physical activities have better heart health and lower blood pressure.

Single people sleep better

Getting a good night’s sleep is really important to your overall health.

People who sleep well tend to have healthier hearts, a lower BMI and have more energy overall.

And recently it was reported that getting a good night’s sleep was more important than sex when it comes to living well.

A survey by Amerisleep found that single people get the most sleep.

They get an average of 7.13 hours a night.

But those in a relationship slept for 7.07 hours and those who were married slept for just 6.71 hours.

Single people have less debt and legal responsibilities

No spouse and kids means you’re only spending money on yourself.

So that makes saving and keeping the stress of debt at bay much easier.

And if you are less stressed, you are healthier.

Stress has been found to promote disease and ruin your heart.

Experts from Johns Hopkins University found that children exposed to chronic stress are more likely to develop a mental illness when they are older.

And stress has been linked to cancer, lung disease, suicide and cirrhosis of the liver.

According to a 1996 study published in the journal Circulation, stress thickens your arterial walls.

This makes it harder for your heart to pump blood around your body, so therefore increases your risk of heart disease.

Now let us discuss men who might live longer by being married

Men who have marital partners also live longer than men without spouses; men who marry after age 25 get more protection than those who tie the knot at a younger age, and the longer a man stays married, the greater his survival advantage over his unmarried peers.

Both married men and single men of a certain age, may remember the tune, if not the words:

Love and marriage, love and marriage,
Go together like a horse and carriage.
This I tell you, brother,
You can't have one without the other.

Much has changed, obviously, since the horse and buggy days. And when it comes to marriage, there have also been enormous changes since Sammy Cahn penned his romantic lyrics in the Ozzie and Harriet era. Many people find love without getting married, and many marriages turn loveless and hostile as divorce rates soar. Single parenting is now common, and society is becoming increasingly comfortable with various patterns of cohabitation.

Although it's hard to be sure, marriage seems to deserve at least part of the credit for men living longer. Some have argued that self-selection would skew the results if healthy men are more likely to marry than men with health problems. But research shows the reverse is true: unhealthy men actually marry earlier, are less likely to divorce, and are more likely to remarry following divorce or bereavement than healthy men.

Another potential factor is loneliness; is the institution of marriage linked to better health, or is it simply a question of living with another person? Although studies vary, the answer seems to be a little of both. People living with unmarried partners tend to fare better than those living alone, but men living with their wives seem to have the best health of all.