5 Ways Relationships with Your Significant Other Can Impact Your Health

It’s common knowledge that a healthy relationship with your partner can bring feelings of happiness and peace. However, your relationship with your significant other can also impact your health in different ways. Our relationships don’t only affect our mood and mental health. They can also have substantial effects on our physical health, lifespan, and even immune system functions. Here are five ways that your relationship with your partner can significantly impact your health:

1. Less Stress

Having a partner that you trust can be a massive boon to mental health. Talking about your problems with someone you trust and about your struggles can help reduce stress, which can boost your mood and energy level, leading to better sleep. However, unhealthy relationships often lead to more pressure, which is linked to many health problems, including anxiety disorders and decreased physical fitness.

2. Better Sexual Health

Having a healthy relationship with a monogamous partner is very good for your sexual health. Having sex with only one person places you at an extremely low risk of contracting STDs or having unwanted pregnancies, which can also help you to feel secure in your relationship. If you and your partner undergo confidential STD testing to ensure that neither of you has any diseases, you can all but guarantee that you’ll remain in good sexual health.

3. Avoid Loneliness

Another significant benefit of a healthy relationship with your partner is that you won’t have to deal with feelings of loneliness. People who suffer from frequent loneliness are more prone to mental illnesses, especially depression, and extreme feelings of isolation can even lead to a weakened immune system. Conversely, people who are in happy, healthy relationships tend to be less prone to mental disorders and demonstrate better mood; one study conducted by Michigan State University even showed that partners in healthy relationships are less inclined to certain health conditions.

4. Improved Fitness

According to one study from Johns Hopkins, improving your physical fitness can also improve the fitness of your partner. This is because of the positive peer pressure of seeing their partner work out is likely to make them want to get into better shape; also, many couples will exercise together.

5. Longer Life

On average, married couples live longer, which can be explained by the general health benefits you can receive from being in a healthy relationship. Better fitness, lower stress, and better mental health have long been linked to longer life, and all of these are potential benefits of being in a healthy relationship.

For these reasons and more, your relationship with your partner can significantly impact your overall health. Healthy relationships provide physical and mental health benefits and even improve your immune system. However, unhealthy relationships can conversely lead to worsening health.