The Many Ways Love Can Make You Healthier

7. Love Can Help Control Pain

An fMRI study revealed that couples in long-term relationships had more activation in areas of the brain that control pain. A study in Psychological Science showed that holding their husbands' hands lowered women's stress responses when exposed to the threat of electric shock. The happier they were in their marriage, the stronger the effect. Another report by the CDC showed that out of 127,000 adults, married people were less likely than their unmarried peers to complain of back pain and headaches.