They found blood pressure levels dropped slightly when a person was with a spouse or significant other. Interestingly, when partners were together they usually had less conversation than when they were with others, and it didn't matter whether the couple thought their marriage was good or bad. Gump says the presence of your partner may act as a safety signal and calm you down, where interacting with less familiar people may involve more uncertainty. The researchers found talking increased blood pressure, but when they controlled for talking, being with your partner still was better than being alone. Gump says being alone may involve a certain amount of unpredictability.
Predictability is good.
Lonely people have higher stress levels, sleep less and are more hostile, he says. They do see the world as a more threatening place. Other research offers some variations. For instance, some studies have shown marriage seems to keep men, in particular, healthy longer, while more recent research has found bad marriages can mean heart problems for women. An 11-year study of 500 women by Kent State University researchers found wives in bad marriages had more clogged arteries, higher blood pressure and cholesterol levels compared with women in good marriages.