Alcohol, as you know, often causes quarrels and divorce. However, this happens if one of the family members, usually a man, suffers from alcoholism. But if a couple drinks alcohol together, and in moderation, it not only strengthens their relationship, but also increases life expectancy. Some recent studies show these results. However, scientists themselves warn against taking this information literally. Nevertheless, the results obtained are still worthy of attention, and indicate that the relationship between a man and a woman affects the health of both much more than previously thought.
Drinking alcohol together strengthens relationships and prolongs life
How sharing alcohol affects relationships
Scientists have long been interested in the effect of alcohol on relationships in couples. For example, in 1998, the concept of the “drinking partnership” was described, according to which alcohol consumption is associated with a large amount of family conflict and suffering. However, previously all studies were concerned with the so-called “non-consensual drinking”, that is, relationships between couples in which only one person was a drinker.
Among such couples there was less satisfaction with marriage, they were more likely to experience aggression, and among they had a high divorce rate. However, as recent studies show, the situation changes dramatically when couples consume alcohol in a coordinated manner, that is, they drink approximately the same amount of alcoholic beverages in each other’s company. This brings them closer together, or at least does not lead to separation, as reported by ScienceAlert.
A recent study involved 4,656 older couples who were married or living together. All of them underwent health diagnostics at least three times, which is carried out every two years for people over the age of 50.
It must be said that in their work the authors focused on the characteristics of alcohol consumption, and not on what kind of drinks they drank. However, if the volunteers had consumed alcohol in the past few months, the scientists were interested in the average amount they drank per week.
As a result, they found that couples who drank alcohol together lived longer than those who did not drink alcohol at all, or only one of them drank alcohol. But the greatest increase in life expectancy came from light or moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages. Researchers report this in the journal The Gerontologie.
Older people who drink alcohol together have a longer life expectancy than non-drinkers
Why drinking alcohol together prolongs life
Given that drinking alcohol alone does not prolong life, you can come to the conclusion that it is not alcohol that affects health at all. As mentioned above, some studies have shown that drinking alcohol together improves relationships in couples. Therefore, most likely, good relationships are the reason for high life expectancy.
True, research does not say anything about a cause-and-effect relationship. It is possible that alcohol does not have such a big impact on relationships, it is just that couples who get along well with each other prefer to drink alcohol together, albeit in small quantities. Additionally, the same level of alcohol consumption can indicate how similar couples' lifestyles, intimacy, and relationship satisfaction are.
Surely there is also the opposite effect – drinking alcohol together strengthens relationships, as it brings people closer together. Although this does not mean that drinking alcohol together will improve a bad relationship between a man and a woman. Also, do not forget that we are talking about moderate or even small amounts of alcoholic beverages. In people who consumed large amounts of alcohol, the positive effect was greatly reduced.
The reason for longevity is most likely not the properties of alcohol, but good relationships between man and woman
Unfortunately, the study does not answer many questions. For example, it remains unclear what couples do when they drink alcohol and what kind of alcohol they drink. It is quite possible that preference is given not to strong drinks, but to wine or champagne, whose health benefits in small quantities have already been proven.
Be sure to subscribe to our Zen and Telegram channels. This way you will always be aware of new scientific discoveries!
But, in any case, it is now clear that couples influence each other so much that it affects their health and life expectancy. Understanding this is key to improving health care policies and practices for older people, scientists say.