Having left behind the heady passions of Valentine’s Day, now that 30 days have passed, we can reason more levelheadedly about the impact of love on your health— I mean, in particular, your heart health.
We can get a hint of the effect love has on the human heart from the idioms the English language supplies us. We hear of hearts melting, hearts breaking, hearts bursting, hearts locking, and so on.
But besides the symbols, there is clear scientific evidence that love can affect heart health for better or for worse, and this post will be examining how.
How Love Protects Your Heart
Feel-Good Hormones
People in love have more feel-good and anti-stress hormones like dopamine, oxytocin, and endorphins. These help you to feel more relaxed. This can play a role in controlling blood pressure and preventing heart attacks.
Faster Recovery
People in love have a faster period of recovery from events like heart attacks. This is both because of the subjective feeling of relaxation and assurance provided by the presence of the lover, as well as the social support actually provided by the said partner. By contrast, those who are socially isolated generally recover more slowly.
Mutual Health Encouragement
People in love mutually encourage each other’s health habits. Due to the accountability and support provided by a loving partner, you are more likely to eat healthier, exercise more, and live healthier overall.
How Love May Break Your Heart
Stress from Conflicts
Even partners in healthy relationships will have occasional arguments and clashes. These events are associated with anxiety and high stress. When frequent, this can raise blood pressure and increase the risk of heart disease.
Reinforcing Unhealthy Behaviors
Some partners may mutually reinforce unhealthy behaviours like eating junk food, alcohol, smoking, and the use of hard drugs. This is more common in the infatuation stage among the unmarried. All these habits increase cardiovascular risk. But in stabler relationships, this turn of events is less likely.
Unhealthy Attachment
Unhealthy attachment to your partner is a high-stress state which may manifest with poor sleep and increased anxiety. This causes increased heart rate and heart strain.
Heartbreak
And of course, ending a relationship can be so traumatizing that you can have a physical manifestation of heartbreak called Takotsubo cardiomyopathy. This condition mimics heart attacks but, thankfully, is often reversible.
Conclusion
A healthy relationship can do wonders for your heart. But an unhealthy one or a troublesome partner may wound your heart. So, yes, choose love, but choose peace too.
