‘Remember’ the benefits of your spouse
Living with a partner – a wife or a husband in your middle age – seems to help preserve your memory and thinking ability, and perhaps even prevent dementia later on in life, at least according to a study from Finland.
Living with a partner – a wife or a husband in your middle age – seems to help preserve your memory and thinking ability, and perhaps even prevent dementia later on in life, at least according to a study from Finland.
Researchers examined about 1,500 people at the age of 50, and followed the participants of the study 20 years later. Results found those who were not co-habiting at the age of 50 were significantly more likely to have memory and thinking problems later on.
Compared to those who were single, divorced or widowed, those with a spouse were about half as likely to have thinking and memory problems later on. The effect of significant cognitive decline was even greater if a person was still single at the age of 70.
Many may believe that people who have memory problems and have a lower capacity of thinking logically are “harder to live with” and therefore more likely to be separated; but, in fact, the effect was stronger if the partner had died.
Other studies have made similar findings, but these researchers found that it was men who benefited from being in the relationship, rather than women.
Despite these results, experts believe that contributing factors which preserve the ageing of the brain and increase cognitive ability among those living with a partner is likely due to social support and the mental jousting that goes on in relationships.
Do you think living with a spouse or partner has its benefits? Let us know what you think in the comment box below.
