
Life

Share
24th April 2019
06:02pm BST

They found that having a partner with a higher level of life satisfaction was linked with a 13 percent lower mortality risk.
In fact, spousal satisfaction has a pretty significant effect on our mortality, they say - the researchers found it to be comparable to other known factors for mortality including income, education and even a person's own level of life satisfaction.
This is the first time that science has suggested that being around a happy person can boost our own lifespans.
One explanation the researchers give for this result is that happier people tend to be more physically active and healthy.
This in turn makes their partners more likely to be healthy and active, they say, helping them to live longer.
"If your partner is depressed and wants to spend the evening eating chips in front of the TV, that’s how your evening will probably end up looking as well," said lead study author Olga Stavrova.Stavrova even says that we should consider a potential partner's happiness levels before committing to a long-term relationship.
"This research might have implications for questions such as what attributes we should pay attention to when selecting our spouse or partner and whether healthy lifestyle recommendations should target couples (or households) rather than individuals."
Explore more on these topics: