A new US study has revealed that having a happy partner is associated with a longer lifespan – no matter what your physical health status or socioeconomic background, and that your partner’s life satisfaction can be a better predictor of your mortality than yours.
Looking at data from 4,400 American married couples aged over 50 for eight years, researchers found that, in the 16 per cent of the participants who had passed away at the end of that period, not only had they reported lower life and relationship satisfaction, but their partner had too.
Study author Olga Stavrova says the findings highlight the role of your partners’ health – people who have a happy and active spouse are more likely to be active and healthy themselves (and so live longer on average).
But the opposite is also true.
“If your partner is depressed and wants to spend the evening eating chips in front of the TV – that’s how your evening will probably end up looking, as well”, she says.
It sure makes a lot of sense to us. As they say, ‘happy wife, happy life’.
