Happy Marriages Make For Healthier People, Study Reveals

According to a recent study published in the Journal of Marriage and Family, happy marriages make for healthier people.

The study, which followed 1,681 people for 20 years, found a correlation between happy marriages and spouses' physical health.

Study participants were broken into two groups -- 18-39-year-olds and those ages 40-55. Researchers questioned each participant about how content they were in their marriages and about the marital problems they face. Respondents were then asked to rank their health as either excellent, good, fair or poor.

The researchers found that there was a strong correlation between good health and how happy people were in their marriages, regardless of age. They also found that for the younger group, the connection between increasing marital happiness and improving individual health was particularly strong, and that for the older group, decreasing marital problems was strongly linked to improving physical health.

"We wanted to compare the health trajectory with the happiness trajectory," co-author Cody Hollist said in a press release. "As health worsens, do their marriages stay stable? What we found is that there's a relationship between health and happiness for both age groups. If their health is good, their happiness is up."

This isn't the first time researchers have looked at the intersection of romance and health. In January 2013, a study found that hugging, kissing and cuddling can improve your health. And another study from that same month found that happily married people live longer than single people.

Click through the slideshow below for more interesting findings about marriage.

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