Should all men get married?

Many women dream of their wedding day, and their life after being married. In fact, when thinking of marriage society often views the women as the one eager to get married, and the guy wanting nothing to do with it. But maybe guys shouldn’t be so resistant to marriage, it is actually proven to have major health benefits for men more than women.

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It has been found that men tend to be healthier when in a marriage as opposed to men who are single. Married men experience less stress, which reduces the chance of disease and illness. In 1996 a study called “Marital Status and Mortality: The Role of Health”, found that men in their 50s or older had lower mortality rates when involved in  marriage. The study came to the conclusions that this could be due to not smoking, avoidance of huge amounts of alcohol, better eating habits, and being cared for when sick. Due to their marriage, the men would be more likely to stay away from potentially risky actions.

Researchers from the University if Chicago took at look at stress levels in marriages. A study was conducted on 500 students who were given the task of playing difficult, stress inducing video games. In this group forty percent where men, and 53 percent where women who were married. Afterwards, the saliva of the participants was tested. The test of saliva was to check the cortisol levels from before the game, to after the game. Cortisol is a steroid hormone associated with stress. The researchers found that there was more cortisol in single men and women than in their married participants. Having less stress as a married man can lead to a longer life, less chance of getting heart disease, and even reduce the chance of cancer development.

Men are better off than women in marriage because their health can improve by a lot, whereas single women and married women remain at almost the same level of health regardless of their relationship. According to one source, “researchers revealed that middle-aged women who had never married had virtually the same chance of developing metabolic syndrome – a combination of diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity – as their married counterparts.” Women who are married, have very similar health to those who are not.

The studies above were well conducted, and shed light on the health benefits of marriage for men. The conclusion of men being better off in marriage is contrary to what society and the media portrays. Although there will still be many girls dreaming about their perfect wedding day, it might be time for men to truly consider marriage. It can truly impact their health.

6 thoughts on “Should all men get married?

  1. Millie Rachel Dweck

    Your blog makes so much sense, but it’s so cool because I have never thought of it like this before. I think living with someone who is right for you can only do good. You have someone pushing you to be the best version of yourself, and someone who cares about you that is always there to talk. Being single, despite the stereotype, is lonely. This makes me even more excited (typical girl mentality like you mentioned in your blog) to get married and have someone help me this much! Great blog! I really enjoyed it!

  2. Sarah Elizabeth Stiffler

    This topic stood out to me because during the first blog period I wrote about monogamy and if humans are capable of it. Through my research, I found that our brains are not actually wired for monogamy, so it makes me question how men are happier and healthier in marriages. It may be because there are other benefits, like security, and the lack of risks like you stated above. I also think it is interesting what you said about stress. I am surprised stress is less when you are married, because I feel like there is so much to deal with, from getting along with your wife to taking care of your kids and supporting your family. I definitely think it all depends on the marriage!

  3. Thomas Curran

    This was really cool to read because I never really thought that marriage could affect men that drastically when it comes to their health. I absolutely agree that being married allows for men to have reduced stress levels and will allow them to keep healthier habits, but there are many different types of men out there. Everyone has a different personality and if you like to be alone and can be happy that way, I do not see how anyone can tell you that you would be happier if you were married. Marriage just simply is not for everyone, so maybe you could try to find a study that shows what personalities would be better off getting married and which would be better off staying single?

  4. Amanda M Mitchell

    In your blog post I feel you could have addressed the common statement “marriage is not for everyone.” I say this because although your argument has validity to it and could be a cause to a man living a healthy lifestyle it seems to be more of an applicable 3rd variable to how/why men live a healthy lifestyle. By addressing the counter argument which I mentioned above and showing that “smoking, avoidance of huge amounts of alcohol, better eating habits, and being cared for when sick” have all been seen to be significantly reduced/ significantly greater in married men your argument is strengthened. Yet in the world we live in today marriage is rarely viewed as something that brings both parties lasting happiness or health. Divorce rates in the US are in the upper 40% according to the American Psychological Association which also is a strong case against your argument. I ask you to address if there is a certain type of male that this can be more specific too as well?

    http://www.apa.org/topics/divorce/

  5. Stephanie Ann Loesch

    Reading this blog is somewhat refreshing as it seems marriage is becoming such a hard thing to maintain nowadays with the divorce rate being at 50% currently. It is nice to read that marriage has positive impacts on men and that they still seem to want to commit to the foundation of marriage. That being said, divorce has been found to be harder on males. It was found that women encourage men to have healthier lifestyles; thus, they are more likely to stay away from alcohol and tobacco. When asked who men would turn to if they had something on their minds, 71% of men said they would turn to their wives for advice and support, while only 39% of women would do the same. Women have more means for communication. Men can bottle up their thoughts and such a thing is not necessarily considered ‘healthy.’ It would be interesting to really look into studies that show men’s health declines more than women’s after a divorce. Of course confounding variables are always present and all studies run the risk of being flukes. Your blog is very relevant and although marriage may be good for men, divorce could be very detrimental for them.
    https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/it-s-man-s-and-woman-s-world/201412/why-breakups-are-actually-tougher-men

  6. Katie Anne Hagar

    I see how marriage can have positive effects on men. However, I think this is too broad of a generalization. How can it be proved that all men, or even most men, will benefit? I think that most people, when asked if relationships are stressful, would say yes. Relationships are known for being difficult. Not all the time but at least sometimes. Also, divorce rates have gone up to around 50%. Events leading up to divorce, not to mention divorce itself, would be extremely stressful and emotional. I encourage marriage but I do not think it can be so generalized among people.

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