Maintaining Good Health is Important for Your Marriage.
Posted on
Maintaining good health and caring for yourself and each other is vital for a happy and successful marriage. Physical health is fundamental to a general sense of well-being and impacts your marriage relationship in many ways. Good health and feeling better about yourself go hand in hand, as do sleeping better, having more energy, and having an enhanced sex life. Husbands and wives can care for each other lovingly by encouraging each other to eat healthy foods and exercise regularly. They can remind each other of needed health appointments.
We all face health challenges occasionally; spouses are affected when one or the other feel bad physically. Giving each other grace in the tough seasons is essential, but it's also fair to take responsibility for maintaining your health according to your age and stage in life. If you can find an exercise or sport you both enjoy, you can encourage each other in healthy habits while having fun together. Relationships are part of our foundation for health and well-being, and they can come in many forms, including family, friends, colleagues, and intimate partners.
Strategies for Prioritizing Health in Marriage.
The five pillars of balanced health are movement, nutrition, sleep, stress management, and social connection. We can borrow or trade some balance in one area for another, but when we take too much from too many of these fundamentals, we start to see a decline in overall health.
A. Exercise Together.
Adults who sit less and do moderate-to-vigorous physical activity gain health benefits like:
- Improved brain health.
- Weight management.
- Reduced illness.
- Strengthened bones and muscles.
- Enhanced ability to perform everyday activities.
Everyone benefits from physical activity regardless of age, abilities, ethnicity, shape, or size. After a session of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, immediate benefits can help keep your thinking, learning, and judgment skills sharp now and as you age. It reduces depression and anxiety and improves sleep.
Both eating patterns and physical activity routines are critical in weight management. To maintain weight, moderate physical activity up to thirty minutes daily and five times weekly, including dancing, yard work, or walking. People vary in how much physical activity they need to manage weight.
B. Eat Healthy.
Your body likes consistency regarding when and what you eat. Eating healthy foods regularly, such as lean meat, vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and water to flush and hydrate, will give you the nutrients to support your body's vital functions and balance your mental well-being. Overeating or skipping meals has metabolic consequences that can upset your physical and psychological health.
C. Get Enough Sleep.
The average hours of sleep needed is eight to be alert and healthy. Your body likes a consistent sleep pattern. Many negative symptoms can erupt from an irregular or disrupted sleep cycle, such as fatigue, issues with memory, emotional instability, and moodiness, and even an increase in illnesses. Both you and your partner must be well-rested.
D. Reduce Stress
Management of stress, both physical and mental, is crucial for balanced health. Physical stress at work and home can lead to overuse injuries, while accumulated mental stressors can affect our emotions and physical health. Anxiety or even perceived stress can drastically alter our cardiovascular and nervous systems. Managing our stressors with exercise, diet, and sleep, alongside other modalities like meditation and breathing exercises, can help balance our stress.
E. Increase Social Connections
Time spent socially with partners, friends, and family is crucial for more balanced health. Social connection, laughter, and touch release various feel-good hormones like oxytocin and neurotransmitters, reducing blood pressure, anxiety, and feelings of depression. When we spend time together, natural pain-killing chemicals called endorphins are released, producing a sense of happiness and euphoria.
Managing Health Conditions
Chronic pain is not just the physical "hurt" experienced by people living with it; but the toll it inflicts on their most important relationships. It also creates a challenge in performing daily, social, or work-related activities. It can trigger the development of anxiety, depression, and anger.
Each of us knows someone dealing with the isolation and loneliness of chronic pain. We have learned from research that loneliness and isolation heighten our risk of almost every disease, both physical and mental, significantly impacting our life satisfaction, self-worth, and life expectancy. Some strategies for managing health conditions, include:
- Set goals with your healthcare team.
- Establish your support system.
- Simplify your daily medication routine.
- Use technology to your advantage, phone reminders, etc.
- Remember that lifestyle changes are essential.
There can't be enough said about maintaining good health and its impact on a happy marriage. You may find help from a counselor or therapist to help and support you through seeking better health as a couple. They can help guide you through the challenging stages of breaking bad health habits and engaging in good ones.
Marriage in a Box can support you if you need helpful coaching suggestions on working through this. Marriage In a Box is a resource that gives you access to tools and strategies professional marriage counselors use for relationship challenges. Coaching is also available on the site. Check out the kit and sources of information online.
Learn more about our Couples Therapy Exercises