Marriage Is Good For Men—Here’s The Proof

It’s no secret that when it comes to getting married, much of our focus immediately goes to the woman. She’s the one presented with a sparkling engagement ring that she shows off to anyone who will look, the one who puts together the wedding of her dreams, the one whose friends harbor jealousy toward, the one who’s treated like she won the lottery by getting the guy to get down on one knee and ask her to spend the rest of her life with him. But when it comes to men, the concept of marriage takes on an entirely different tone – one that’s typically rather negative and cynical.

Marriage is often treated as a union that is only of benefit to women, and to the great detriment of men. Many men see getting married as marking the end of their freedom, and their would-be wife as the ball and chain that will hinder them from living their best life. The modern no-strings-attached dating scene, which encourages women to lower their standards by having casual encounters with random guys, and enables men to take advantage of said women, only feeds the idea that lifelong commitment is for suckers.

This has created a culture in which men aren’t all that interested in getting married. And why would they be, if all they’ve ever been told is that becoming someone’s husband would take away their freedom, ruin their life, and not just be of no benefit to them, but a detriment to their happiness? Men are walking away from marriage because they’ve been led to believe it will only have a negative impact on their lives.

But what if we told you that marriage has actually been shown to greatly benefit men – even more so than women?

Their Mental Health Improves

It turns out that having all the freedom in the world doesn’t guarantee good mental health. In fact, countless studies have suggested that married men actually have better mental health than men without wives – whether they’d never married, or were divorced or widowed. Researchers from the University of Chicago found that marriage and committed romantic relationships lowered men’s stress hormones.

Married men reported lower levels of depression.

According to a study conducted at the University of Southern Denmark, men who were married reported lower levels of depression; similarly, a study from the Italian National Institute of Health reported that married people had the lowest rates of suicide.

None of this is all that surprising when you think about the fact that married people, ideally speaking, have a partner in every sense of the word – they have a confidant, someone who can help carry their burdens, and who will help stave off loneliness.

Their Physical Health Improves

It’s not just married men’s mental health that gets a boost, though. A Framingham Offspring study found that married men had a 46% lower rate of dying from cardiovascular disease than unmarried men did; that same study found that the marriage’s happiness had no bearing on that lower rate, suggesting that simply being married, and not even the quality of the marriage, pointed to a lowered risk of the disease.

Another study found that in men diagnosed with cancer, those who weren’t married were more likely to have a more advanced case at the time of diagnosis than married men. Marriage is also linked to a higher chance of survival. A study conducted by the University of Miami that studied men who’d been diagnosed with prostate cancer found that married men lived much longer than men who were separated, widowed, or never married. And lastly, a survey conducted by the U.S. Medicare Health Outcomes (HOS) found that, on average, married men lived longer than their unmarried counterparts.

They Make More Money and Are More Successful

Despite the notion that having a wife could potentially distract a man from his career and take away from his wealth, having a wife will actually make a man all the more successful and financially prosperous – certainly not less. A report from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis found that the average married man makes more money than everyone, from single men to married women to single women. 

Married men save more money, work harder, and work more wisely. 

But a married man’s luck doesn’t stop with simply having a bigger number in his bank account. They’ve also been shown to save more, work harder, and work more wisely, leading to greater success and fulfillment in their careers.

They Have Better Sex Lives

Yes, really. While many unmarried men might assume that their plethora of options when it comes to women will lead them to a more satisfying sex life, it actually turns out that the average married man wins out here too. While one research brief assembled by the Institute of Family Studies found that 51% of married men reported being “extremely satisfied” with their sex lives, only 36% of single men reported feeling this way. Researchers suggest that the reason for this is due to the natural intimacy found in the lifelong, committed relationship a marriage creates – which then translates into physical intimacy and chemistry.

They’re Less Likely To Make Unhealthy Lifestyle Choices

Having a life partner isn’t just beneficial for a man’s mental health, physical health, and financial health. It actually leads men to make a slew of healthier life choices. A study from the University of Virginia reported that married people drank less alcohol on average than single people. They’re also more likely to eat healthier and less likely to smoke. Not only that, but according to Harvard Health, married people tend to take fewer risks with their health and keep regular doctor’s appointments.

Closing Thoughts

The proof is in the pudding. Despite the belief that marriage is women’s way of trapping men for life, it turns out that men actually reap incredible benefits from choosing to get married – from living longer to making more money to leading a more fulfilling life.

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