The status of your relationship can have a direct effect on your health. Unhappy relationships can take all of your energy to maintain them. They can be stressful and complicated. Happy relationships are great blessings full of love, comfort, and laughter. Whether you’re in a healthy, happy marriage or you’re in a stressful union, for better or worse, relationships have enormous effects on health.

There are plenty of positive and negative effects of being with the person you love on your emotional and physical wellbeing. Here are 12 ways your health is in your partner’s hands.

1. Stress levels are deeply impacted

It goes without saying that being in a serious relationship means taking on your partner’s stresses and anxieties as well as your own. For better or worse, even a happy relationship can bring stress along with it. This is even worse when you are in an unhappy relationship. Worrying about your relationship status, the fidelity of your partner, having a partner that is overly critical, or being in a power struggle can all contribute to the decline of your physical and emotional health.

2. Graceful Aging

It has long been believed that being in a healthy, long-term relationship causes individuals to age more gracefully and even live longer than those who are single. Being in a happy relationship is believed to contribute to couples taking better care of themselves and each other, researchers suggest. For example, single men tend to drink heavily and participate in unhealthy behavior more than those who are in committed relationships.

3. Promotes Happiness

Being in a healthy relationship where both partners communicate regularly and show each other respect promotes overall happiness. This is in large part due to the promotion of the oxytocin hormone as well as dopamine release. Many people respond to physical touch such as hugging or even sexual intimacy by the release of the oxytocin hormone, which is responsible for promoting attachment to your partner, reducing anxiety, promoting touch, triggers protective instincts in relation to your spouse, and gives an overall ‘feel-good’ vibe in your mental health.

4. Lowers Risk of Heart Attack

One benefit of your relationships effects on your health is that it can lower your risk of heart attack. More specifically, a satisfying sex life can do wonders for cardiovascular health. When testosterone or estrogen levels dip, your chances of developing heart disease and osteoporosis increase. Lucky for those in healthy relationships, an active sex life can balance hormone levels and keep your heart rate up. One male-based study found that men who have an active sex life (doing the deed twice a week or more) reduced their risk of dying of heart disease by half compared to men who did not have sex at all.

5. Negative Mental Health Issues

Great relationships can have an amazing effect on the overall happiness and mental health. However, people in unhappy relationship experienced the opposite effect. Studies show that a strained relationship can create or feed into mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and PTSD.

6. Natural Pain Relief

Sex has all sorts of health benefits when practiced regularly. Couples who have sex that results in an orgasm create hormones that act as a natural pain reliever. This hormone numbs discomfort by raising the body’s natural pain tolerance. Happy couples who have orgasm inducing sex can help fight numb the pain from arthritis, menstrual cramps, and headaches.

7. Improves Sleep

Cortisol is a hormone occurs as part of the “fight or flight” response and is triggered by stress and fear. It can also have a negative effect on your sleep schedule, even promoting insomnia. Cortisol also contributes to premature aging and early death. Lucky for those in happy relationships, this naughty hormone can be combatted by sleeping next to the one you love. Couples who sleep next to one another every night show a significant decrease in cortisol levels and promote an excellent, peaceful night’s sleep.

8. Great Healing Effects

Love is the magic cure for what ails you – Literally! One study administered blisters to a group of happy couples as well as a group of singles. The results? Those in satisfying relationships healed from the wounds quicker than those who were not in relationships. This is likely due to lowered stress and oxytocin hormones, which can promote healing in the body.

Further research revealed that sexually active couples reported fewer sick days than singles and had higher levels of germ-fighting antibodies, which contribute to a healthy immune system.

9. Improves Bladder Control

Sexually active couples can help improve bladder control, specifically in women. Women develop strong pelvic floor muscles during sex when they tighten their vaginal walls around the penis. This works in the same way that Kegel exercises do and is particularly strong when having an orgasm. A strong pelvic floor is beneficial for arousal, having orgasms easier, and can help prevent incontinence in the future by strengthening bladder control.

10. Boosts Libido and Happiness in Men

Happy relationships provide happy results. For example, relationships health benefits on men can trigger a high release of dopamine and testosterone. These are both chemicals commonly associated with attachment and sexual desire. While these feel-good chemicals don’t last forever, they certainly give your body a great boost of positive energy.

11. Negative Heart Health Risks

Forget about a broken heart, how about a heart attack? Results from a  study conducted on 2000 people showed that women who were in unhappy marriages were more likely to end up having a heart attack. These women were also more disposed to having heart disease and heart attacks. Talk about a broken heart! Researchers suggest these negative side effects were likely due to increased stress due to marital or relationship discord.

12. Lowers Chances of Prostate Cancer

Sex, and how often you do the deed, can have major benefits to your health. Studies show that men who have sex with their partner (or who ejaculate at least 21 times a month) may be less likely to develop prostate cancer.

With the understanding of all the above points and how a healthy relationship can impact you, it is a good time to build a long-lasting, happy and healthy relationship with your partner!

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Author Bio: Rachael Pace is a relationship expert with years of experience in training and helping couples. She has helped countless individuals and organizations around the world, offering effective and efficient solutions for healthy and successful relationships. Her mission is to provide inspiration, support and empowerment to everyone on their journey to a great marriage. She is a featured writer for Marriage.com, a reliable resource to support healthy happy marriages.

Are you in a happy relationship that brings out your best self? Are you in a stressful relationship that affects your health negatively? Take care of YOU by putting yourself in meaningful, productive relationships.

Photo Credit: Mulberry & Sage Photography, Mojitos and Munchkins,  Photo by Elizabeth Tsung on Unsplash, Photo by William Stitt on Unsplash, Photo by freestocks.org on Unsplash