The Good Side of Being Single

Rebecca Lewis May 06, 2014

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Sure, it feels good to be in love and be loved by your special someone. But that doesn’t mean that being single feels the opposite. Whilst generally – as studies suggest – married people are happier than their unmarried peers, being single does have plenty of benefits too.

They often, are healthier.

Numerous studies suggest that single people are healthier than their married colleagues. A 2000 study, based on the national sample of more than 13,000 Americans ages 18 to 64, found that people who have always been single exercise more than married people do. Divorced people exercise more than married people, too, but not as much as the people who have always been single. This is possibly the reason why they also tend to be leaner than married people. In another study, carried out the Disease Control and Prevention in the US, it was revealed that women who get married get fatter.

Furthermore, the always-single men are less likely than men of any other marital status to experience heart disease. Based on a nationally representative sample of more than 9,000 people in late mid-life, single men had lower risks of developing heart disease. Whilst single women looked good too, the results were much striking among men. Studies also suggest that single people appear more resilient in life. In a study by The RAND Corporation, warriors who had always been single were least likely to have symptoms suggesting PTSD, most successful at bouncing back from injury or illness or hardship, least likely to be depressed, least likely to be obese, and least likely to have emotional or physical health problems that interfered with their work or other regular activities.

They are more social.

People who get married become less connected to their friends and their parents than they were when they were single. That’s not just a newlywed effect – it continues for as many years into the marriage as studies suggest. These people are also more attentive to friends, family, and neighbours than their married peers. This can’t be explained away by time spent on kids. Among those who have young kids and those who have no kids, the marrieds are again less attentive to their friends and parents. What’s more, single people are more likely to volunteer for civic organisations than married people are, according to Eric Klinenberg’s “Going Solo”.

Single people tend to be more generous and helpful as well. Married people exchange much less help with their parents and parents-in-law combined than single people do with just their parents. It is the single people who are there for mom and dad. Meanwhile, a US study that included only men found that men who got married were less generous to their friends than they were when they were single. They were not any more generous with their relatives. This is especially noteworthy because single men are paid less than married men, even when they are equally accomplished.

See? So don’t feel sad if you are single, or still single. It does come with benefits too.