Every Day is Valentine’s
By Angelica Gavaldon

We are celebrating Valentine’s Day this month, the month of love and friendship. Besides the romantic dinners and being in love there are many health benefits to nurturing a friendship, love and marriage. Cultivating relationships extends your lifetime and helps your immune system. Here are a few other reasons why healthy relationships will make you live a long happy life:

Married people live longer

Studies have shown that married people tend to live longer. When you are in a good healthy relationship, having a significant other that cares for you, you are more likely to follow good habits. For example, married people drink and smoke less. It makes sense: family dinners at home are more common than going out and drinking.

Happy marriages always support each other, lift each other up and are stronger emotionally. When you have a partner for life you feel you can accomplish anything together. If you are down, your partner can lift you up, encourage you and staying positive is always good for mental health.

Friendships

Cultivating friendships helps us in life, getting through tough moments, divorce and death. In general, friends are always there by our side to lift us up during hardships. Mentally, it is very good for us to know we don’t have to walk through this life alone. Friendships are good for our immune system and when you spend time with friends, your stress level decreases. If we have positive friends, being around inspiring energy is contagious, laughing is good for us and if we are lucky enough to have good influences in our lives, they will help us develop good healthy habits.

Have a healthy Valentine’s day

A Healthy activity I like to do, and you can do with your significant other, is to take a romantic walk on the beach. Better if it is after dinner to digest food better before bedtime and use this time to disconnect from devices and connect with one another. Try to make it a point to encourage one another and express what you are grateful for in each other. Sometimes after a long day it is important to remember the beauty of the love you have around you and feed each other gratefulness.

Cheers to love and Friendship!