Lovers who share good times and show affection for each other enjoy better health and have a longer life expectancy than couples who often argue, according to a recent study.
- In France, on average, over the period 2020-2025, life expectancy at birth for women is 85.8 years and 80.3 years for men.
We know that life as a couple is not always a long calm river. During a long romantic relationship, some lovebirds have many disagreements and conflicts. Others argue less and have more good times together. According to researchers from the University of California at Berkeley (USA), lovers who get along well and are on the same wavelength live longer and are healthier than couples who quarrel .
To reach this conclusion, scientists conducted a study, including the results have been published Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. To carry out their work, they recruited 154 middle-aged and older married couples in the San Francisco area from 1989 to 2009.
Positive resonance, an indicator of our health and life expectancy
As part of the research, couples were required to visit a lab in Berkeley every five years so researchers could observe their behaviors and emotions as they discussed recent events in their relationship, as well as good times. and disagreements. The authors also tried to understand what was happening in their organism during the conflicts. Participants were asked to complete questionnaires on marital satisfaction, health issues and other topics.
“We focused on those moments when you feel sudden joy, closeness and intimacy,” said Robert Levenson, a UC Berkeley psychology professor and author of the work in a statement. They chose to focus on these brief shared moments, known as “positive resonance”, because they constitute “a powerful indicator of our health and life expectancy”.
Getting along well with your partner leads to a longer life
“Using the set of biological and behavioral measures of positive resonance, we found that spouses whose relationship had a high rate of positive resonance saw their health decline less rapidly over the next thirteen years and were more likely to still be alive after 30 years”, said Robert Levenson.
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