Being in a happy relationship is great. You always have someone to greet you when you come home from a long day at the office, offer support and intimacy and hold your hand when the times get tough. However, healthy relationships actually improve people’s physical and mental health. Here’s how your partner can make you healthier.

They prevent heart attacks

The image of a heart has always been used to represent love, but there’s more truth to this than previously thought. It turns out, relationships really have a positive effect on your heart. For instance, marriage reduces the risk of a heart attack in both men and women. While scientists aren’t really sure why, but they think that having a partner can encourage you to take better care of your health and that partners usually encourage people to go to the doctor. 

They boost the immune system

Physical intimacy can actually keep the sneezes and colds away since it has a direct effect on your immune system. During sexual arousal and orgasm, people experience a big boost in their immune system. This change in the human immune system is very prominent: people who have regular sexual intercourse even take fewer sick days. During sex, antibodies in your body raise and make your body more capable of fighting viruses and germs that are responsible for various illnesses.

They help relieve stress

If you watch those cliché sitcoms, you will see that marriage is everyone’s biggest source of trouble and stress, but that’s not based on reality. Actually, married individuals are often less stressed than single people and have a lower level of the stress hormone cortisol. Why? Well, marriage and relationships offer good social support and can buffer against stress.

They make you fit

While you might find it harder to stay fit when your partner is such a good cook, you will have a much better support system when trying to lose weight. Additionally, if you’re a social person, you can grab your partner and hit the gym—couples who sweat together, stay together. And let’s not forget about sex. Sex can be treated like any other physical activity, especially if you choose to employ some innovative adult toys that will allow you to prolong your pleasure and have a very sweaty and hot time in the sheets. People on average burn anywhere from 69 to 100 calories during a 25-minute session, but if you make it hotter and longer with some toys, you can really end up looking ripped.

They make you look younger

Growing old is stressful, but having someone to do it with is much better than doing it alone. Research finds that people in happy relationships usually rate their health and physical appearance as higher, even when in old age, compared to single people or those unhappily married.

They offer better sleep

No matter if you’re partner always hogs the blanket, twitches like crazy or snores all through the night, you can still reap a lot of benefits of sleeping with them. People who sleep next to their partner have lower levels of cortisol, which allows them to sleep much better. This is mostly visible in women. Women in stable relationships sleep more soundly, fall asleep faster and report fewer sleep interruptions than single women.  

They make you happier

Healthy relationships that offer support and love have a huge boost in human happiness levels. Being in love encourages the production of oxytocin which boosts comfort, happiness and bonding. That’s why spending time, cuddling or even just looking at your loved one can improve your mood almost instantly.

Being in a relationship is one of the best and most organic parts of being a human. And the fact that it makes you healthier and more stable is only an added bonus!