Answer: Marriage
Clues: “Union” and “Vow”
A study found one major thing that can make men live longer is…getting married.
Researchers tracked 7,000 people for several years, and found men who were married, or who got married during the study, were twice as likely to “age optimally” compared to guys who stayed single.
They defined optimal aging as not having any serious physical, mental, or emotional issues that kept them from living a happy life into old age.
They think marriage helps because your spouse tends to encourage you to adopt healthier behaviors, like quitting smoking and exercising regularly. Married men also reported higher levels of happiness overall and had more social support.
Women who got married didn’t see any huge health benefits.
The lead author of the study thinks it’s because women just tend to have more experience maintaining their health and well-being independently.
That said, something men can do to help their wife live longer is…don’t die. One thing that did have a negative effect on how women aged was losing their spouse or getting divorced.