NEW YORK: Do you feel tired and lethargic after coming home from work? Regardless, do take out the time to talk to, and spend time with your spouse, not only will this strengthen your relationship, it also has a number of health benefits.
According to new research, positive interactions with your partner can lower the risk of heart attack or stroke. “Partners with an increased number of negative interactions were found to have thicker carotid arteries — the blood vessels that carry blood through the neck to the brain,” Nataria Joseph from VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System in California was quoted as saying.
Thicker carotids are linked with an increased risk of cardiovascular problems. In the study, researchers found that people who reported few positive interactions with their partners had an 8.5 percent higher risk of having a heart attack or stroke in the future.
For the study, researchers analysed 281 middle-age adults who were either married, or living with partners in marriage-like relationships. They found that interactions may be closely tied to emotions, health behaviours and physiology, all of which have effects on health.
“The study, however, shows a correlation but not a cause-and-effect relationship between interactions and thicker carotid arteries,” Joseph said in a Live Science report.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 7th, 2014.
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