THURSDAY, March 20 (HealthDay News) -- Happily married people
have lower blood pressure than unhappy married people or singles, a
Brigham Young University study says.
On the other hand, even having a supportive social network did
not translate into a blood pressure benefit for singles or unhappy
married people, according to the study.
"There seem to be some unique health benefits from marriage.
It's not just being married that benefits health -- what's really
the most protective of health is having a happy marriage," study
author Julianne Holt-Lunstad, a psychologist who specializes in
relationships and health, said in a prepared statement.
The study included 204 married and 99 single adults who wore
portable blood-pressure monitors for 24 hours. The monitors
recorded blood pressure at random intervals and provided a total of
about 72 readings.
"We wanted to capture participants' blood pressure doing
whatever they normally do in everyday life. Getting one or two
readings in a clinic is not really representative of the
fluctuations that occur throughout the day," Holt-Lunstad said.
Overall, happily married people scored four points lower on the
blood pressure readings than single adults. The study also found
that blood pressure among married people -- especially those in
happy marriages -- dipped more during sleep than in single
people.
"Research has shown that people whose blood pressure remains
high throughout the night are at much greater risk of
cardiovascular problems than people whose blood pressure dips,"
Holt-Lunstad said.
The study was published in the March 20 issue of the journal
Annals of Behavioral Medicine.
The study also found that unhappily married adults have higher
blood pressure than both happily married and single adults.
Holt-Lunstad noted that spouses can encourage healthy habits in
one another, such as eating a healthy diet and having regular
doctor visits. People in happy marriages also have a source of
emotional support, she said.
More information
The U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute offers advice
on how to
reduce high
blood pressure.
