New research has found additional health benefits to marriage aside from just increasing lifespan. A research team from Cardiff University in Wales, explained that marriage may also improve mental health of the wife and the physical health of the husband.

The research can be found in the British Medical Journal. While marriage has been shown to have several long-term health benefits, teenage relationships show increased risks of depression.

Also, romantic relationships tend to provide better mental health benefits than physical for people between the ages of 18 and 25 years old. However, ‘bad marriages’ are not as beneficial for health. Single people have better mental health when compared to people in a stressful relationship. Experts explain that break-ups almost always cause negative health effects as the action is usually distressing.

Another interesting finding researchers explain is that people with many different partners notice shorter lifetimes when compared to individuals in long-term relationships. Extensive studies have shown that death rates may be as much as 15 percent lower for individuals in healthy, long-term relationships.