Come, fall in love

Ever thought why all love stories end with—they lived happily ever after. What’s so good about mush that makes you feel warm from within and you love to curl up with a romantic tale on a winter night by the fireside? Being in love is a wonderful feeling. You got to be in it to believe it. While there are telltale signs of love—the flustered cheek, raised heartbeat, butterflies in stomach, anticipation and the general feeling of euphoria, many of us do not know love is good for your ticker and adds years to your life. How?

Love is about companionship, respecting the wishes of ‘the significant other’ and it does not take a genius to guess that staying in a committed relationship brimming with love ups your health quotient. From the very beginning of human race we have longed for love and its manifestations. A German paediatrician Ernst Moro discovered in 1918 that if a baby is startled fresh from the womb, its arms will fly up and out and then come together in a desperate clutch. Doctors have long known that babies if they are not held will not thrive.

Falling in love

So much has been written about love and the intoxicating feeling it generates. Poets were right; love does induce a kind of high. The study published in the International Journal of Psychophysiology shows that falling in love induces a calming effect on the body and mind.
What makes love transcend all barriers and withstand the test of time? Sabita Sinha, married for 40 years has answers. “My husband gets restless if he does not see me in the house when he comes back from outside.” Surely, love is very much in the air for this couple and they are going strong and steady after so many years of togetherness. “Initially love may be like a torrential rain, a tattoo, then the years of togetherness grow and you have children whom you grow up together and the empty nest syndrome follows. Years may flow but love continues to grow, and it’s no mean feat that I still miss a beat when I see my husband at the end of the day”, says she, face flushed as a radiant bride. You may find it hard to believe but authors Dr. Linda Waite and Maggie Gallagher in their book- ‘The case for Marriage’ say, “ Being single can take away almost ten years from a man’s life and wifely nagging is good for his health.”

The touch therapy

When we talk of love, we talk about it in the context of ‘male-female primary relationships’. However, love has a wider purview and transcends beyond this primary meaning to a feeling where we have good feelings about someone. In both the instances studies have found that love is good for us, and so is touch. San Diego physician and sex therapist Theresa Crenshaw, author of The Alchemy of Love and Lust, strongly recommends the healing power of the human touch. She explains that displays of affection such as hugging or kissing (in the context of a meaningful relationship) can help heal the sick and soothe the worried. For committed couples, touching provides a host of health benefits as well, such as relieving stress, connecting intimately with your loved one, and producing endorphins, the body’s natural pain reliever.
After all, in hours of distress don’t we hug each other while comforting them? Researchers at Carolina found that a generous dose of hugging from husbands does a whole lot of good to wives’ hypertension and releases hormone—oxytocin in the blood stream, a relaxing hormone that comes in play during orgasm, breastfeeding and labor. Though, hugs may not be doing this amount of good to your husband; his health stays in shape with regular sex. Without help from science, it is simple to guess that something that makes you feel good, glows your skin, relieves headaches, drives blues away and is free, has to be terrific.

The more the merrier

Sex is good for middle aged men, and studies suggest that men who are active in bedroom often handle boardroom stress better and are less likely to die of fatal heartattacks. Also more frequently the men ejaculate the less likely they are to develop prostate cancer. Psychologists have found that people who have sex once or twice a week have levels of immunoglobulin A (IgA) that are up to a third higher than their more restrained peers. IgA is an antibody that boosts the immune system and is the first line of defence against colds and flu.

Much has been made of the slimming and toning effects of a sexual work-out. In fact, sex probably burns off about the same number of calories per minute as a brisk walk.

Some experts think it won’t be long before doctors prescribe steamy sex, romantic getaways and caring communication in addition to low-cholesterol diets and plenty of rest and that sounds like a happy Rx.

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