Love and relationships do a lot and say a lot about those who are in them.
Those who are in a relationship, a healthy one, have shown that they have a longer life expectancy than others who are not in relationships or those who may be in unhealthy relationships.
Love is tricky, though, and so many people will fall in and out of love.
You might have thought you found someone, only to have things change with time.
People change, and many feel that love is a choice.
If you choose to love the person you’re with, and you give them your all and they do the same to you, you can both benefit and have longer, healthier, happier lives.
Love makes life fuller and comes with healing properties you wouldn’t be able to get from other parts of your life in general.
Love is something that can help make life and the experiences in it stronger and more meaningful, making this a piece of your life that you should always hold dear.
Those who are considering longevity and their life as a whole might benefit from being in love or being in a strong relationship.
Nurturing these relationships and being able to live longer is ideal.
The Studies on Love and Longevity
Love is important in a person’s life.
Some may say that this is just as important as food or water, and while that is debatable, it does have a lot to do with the fulfillment and happiness a person experiences and length of time they live.
What have these studies shown us?
They have shown us that those couples who have happy, intimate marriages and are in love live on average, 10 years longer than those who are not in relationships.
Women who are in these types of relationships have also been shown to have longer lifespans separately, up to three years longer on average.
The study was not just done on those who are in long-term relationships with each other, but those who have strong relationships with others around them.
Giving and receiving love is the general idea for this, and not feeling alone or lonely in certain terms.
Research shows that this can help the body heal, and it can prevent a lot of mental health issues that some people grow up with.
This is important to keep in mind, especially for those who have children that they need to build relationships with.
This can cause issues to happen in the child if they do not obtain an adequate amount of love.
How Does Love Effect Our Longevity?
Being in a loving relationship gives us a feeling of happiness and well-being.
It provides the people in the relationship a sense of well-being, warmth, and happiness.
This, in turn, allows the person to fight off the conditions, diseases, or sicknesses that would generally harm you stay away.
When a person is under a lot of stress or going through a lot of hardships, it can cause the person to become sick often.
When this happens, it is important to evaluate your life and relationships, as changing the outlook you have on these might just be what you need to get your health back.
Living longer is something that comes from being able to fight off these sicknesses that would normally cause a person to lose their lives sooner, especially if they do not have a strong immune system as it is.
By having happiness in your life, and being able to rely on someone, keeping active, and doing things you want to do, you are helping yourself live longer and remain happier.
Hopefully, this will be passed down to future generations that want to know your secrets.
It is said that three things last in life and only three things, love, faith and hope.
This is why love is one of the most powerful forces you want to have and make use of to live a healthier, happier life.
Opening Our Hearts is Important
Not only should we give, but we should receive more love in order to live happier, longer lives according to these studies.
Many people are living with one another, in a relationship, but do not trust or know one another.
These are the relationships that are sad and do not benefit either person who is in this type of relationship.
Staying close with the other person, holding their hand, knowing inner and outer beauty, as well as having a loving relationship is going to help you become not only happier but also overall healthier.
This helps the body heal and stay healthy.
Being nicer to people in general, even those you do not know, is going to help you open up your heart and actually provide something nice back to the world you’re living in.
Do you know how you can open up your heart and build more meaningful relationships with others around you?
Relationship Building Tips
- Be positive in all transactions that you make with those around you, especially those who you are close with.
- Don’t be fake or lie to the other person to make them like you, just be yourself. This can help you have a better relationship.
- Listen, understand, and feel for the person that you are speaking with. Taking the time to understand them and relate to them can help deepen your relationship.
- Follow up, do lunch, go out for drinks, but don’t let the relationship die out. You want to nourish and protect the relationship that you have with this other person, but this means actually spending time with them.
- Check-in with the people you speak with from time to time. You want to keep up by talking with the person, seeing how they are doing, and making sure all is good.
- Be happy with yourself before you jump into something with someone else. You will know what you want, what you need, and who you are, which is a good thing to think about when you are moving from sexual relationship to sexual relationship.
- Spend real time with the other person. Do something with one another that you both love and want to do.
- Make special acts and efforts to show the person that you care about them. Whether it is on a whim or a special occasion, you want to make sure that you are doing something that shows the other person you care about them.
- Make time for the other person or people in your life that mean something to you. You want to make sure that you are spending the right amount of time with them if any at all. When you stop spending time with someone, they might think you don’t want to. This doesn’t nourish the relationship.
- Take the leap of faith when you want to get to know someone.
5 Scientifically Proven Activities to Improve Relationships
- Answer the famous 36 questions – In a large famous study, many individuals felt closer to each other and several even fell in love after answering 36 questions about relationships, death, and other deep topics.
- Volunteer together – A 2013 study published in the journal Hormones and Behavior found that people who volunteer regularly experienced higher oxytocin (aka the love, cuddle hormone) levels after finishing charitable acts. Volunteering can generate feelings of connecting socially and reducing stress. It’s much easier to bond with your partner when you’re feeling relaxed and stress-free. A 2017 WalletHub survey found, married couples who volunteered together were more likely to stay together.
- Travel together – A 2013 study by the U.S. Travel Association found that couples who travel together are much happier in their relationships. The report states that traveling helps couples strengthen their relationships.
- Work out together – Research has found that couples who work out together can increase their happiness, improve the efficiency of your workout and increase your emotional bond.
- Listen to music together – A study out of Freie University Berlin found that listening to music together helps our ability to connect. Empathy, trust and cooperation are parts of the brain that are impacted by music. Music can also release oxytocin, the feel-good hormone which helps to deepen connections.
You want to make sure that you reach out to the person that you want to speak with, let them know more about you, and open the lines of communication.
Other countries are providing more insight into what can be done to embrace one another, to love and be loved, and more.
Europe is one of those countries that has a more open way of life when it comes to love and being able to trust and live life to the fullest.
They take the time to listen to one another, to do things that fulfill themselves and their lives.
They want to make sure that they enjoy being alive, and do not spend their time wasting it on things they do not like to do.
This is something we can all learn from, regardless of where we live.
Whether you are in a relationship or not, you will find that any strong relationship that fulfills your heart is a good one to nourish.
Keeping these relationships close to your heart and building upon them is very important to your health and well-being.
These relationships are ideal for everyone, but sadly, many people may not be able to have relationships of this sort for various reasons.
This can lead to depression and other issues that the person would have to deal with regularly, which may mean less of a lifespan.
Sources:
https://www.health.harvard.edu/mental-health/can-relationships-boost-longevity-and-well-being
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/why_relationships_are_the_secret_to_healthy_aging
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4725506/
https://www.creators.com/read/david-lipschitz-lifelong-health/02/14/love-and-intimacy-the-key-to-longevity
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/425958
https://www.nurseshealthstudy.org/about-nhs/history
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4607089/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11374751