Is marriage good for your health? Here are the pros and cons.
Being married has its benefits, but a new study found that staying single late in life might actually be better for your brain.
Tying the knot is a monumental moment. It's a partnership filled with ups and downs that could enrich both lives.
Marriage, however, isn't some instant cure, according to Dr. Behnam Sabayan, a vascular neurologist with Hennepin Healthcare.
"The quality of the relationship is more important than just having the relationship," he said.
That being said, he does see health benefits to getting married.
"You would have a strong emotional connection, and you have a person that you can vent to. You have a person that can help you to be a better person, to be a healthier person, and a person that watches you," he said.
Many studies point to marriage being a positive factor when it comes to health.
According to Harvard Medical School, married people tend to live longer, have fewer strokes and heart attacks, have lower chances of depression, are more likely to survive a major operation and simply visit the doctor more often than single people.
The list of potential benefits is a long one, but a new study found a negative correlation between brain health and marriage.
More than 24,000 people over 50 years old participated. Some were married, others were single (divorced, widowed, never married).
Their cognitive abilities were tested annually for 18 years at a dementia clinic. The study found that unmarried people had roughly a 50% lower chance of getting dementia than married people. They also had a lower risk of Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia. The findings contrast with previous studies that reported married people having a lower risk of cognitive impairment and dementia than unmarried groups.
One theory to explain why married couples might have a higher dementia risk is because they tend to have a smaller social circle later in life. According to the study, "There is some evidence indicating an increase in some domains of well-being, such as happiness and life satisfaction, after divorce, and social participation after partner bereavement. Never-married individuals are also more likely to socialize with friends and neighbors and are more likely to engage in healthier behaviors than their married counterparts."
How important are other relationships or your social network to preventing dementia?
"The science is really clear from young childhood all the way to adulthood and older age. Having social connection and ties, meaningful and enriched with lots of learning and attraction and playing positive role, is very important for development of the brain and staying sharp," Sabayan said.
Despite the study's results, Sabayan said it doesn't prove marriage causes dementia, just that there's an association worth more research.
"Loneliness is definitely not good for health, not good for the heart health but also brain health," he said.
