Being single has a number of benefits, as various scientific studies have shown. Having more time for yourself is just one of them. Today we review some of those investigations that have revealed the positive aspects of being single.
Singles have stronger social networks
In 2015, Natalia Sarkisian and Naomi Gerstel set out to explore how ties to family, neighbors, and friends varied between married and single American adults. They found that singles were not only more likely to reach out to their social networks, but also tended to provide and receive help from these people much more than those who were married.
Their results held true even after taking into account factors such as race, gender and income.
Fostering friendship is key to aging well and increasing happiness
Several studies have attested this. One of them, published in 2008 in the British Medical Journal, found that people who had regular contact with 10 or more people were significantly happier than those who did not , and that people with fewer friends were less happy overall.
Friends are especially important
In a couple of studies with nearly 280,000 participants, William Chopik, an assistant professor of psychology at Michigan State University , found that friendships become increasingly important as we age. In older people, friendships were a stronger predictor of health and happiness than relationships with members of one’s own family.
“ Keeping a few really good friends can make a huge difference to our health and well-being , so it’s smart to invest in the friendships that make you the happiest,” Chopik said in a statement.
Singles are in better physical shape
A questionnaire filled out by more than 13,000 people between the ages of 18 and 64 revealed that those who were single and who had never married exercised more frequently each week than those who were married or divorced.
Another 2015 study published in the journal Social Science and Medicine compared the body mass indexes of approximately 4,500 people in nine European countries and found that single people had, on average, a slightly lower BMI than married people . In general, married couples weighed approximately 2.3 kg more than single ones.
Singles have greater individual development
Several studies have linked loneliness with benefits such as a greater sense of freedom and higher levels of creativity and intimacy. Time alone can help us be more productive, too.
Bella DePaulo , a psychologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, advocates for singleness and travels the United States presenting these findings that she says are too often rejected by the community of psychologists.
In a 2016 presentation for the American Psychological Association , DePaulo presented evidence that single people tended to have stronger feelings of self-determination and were more likely to experience psychological growth and development than their married counterparts.
In other words, while romantic relationships certainly have benefits, being single does, too.
“The belief that single people are miserable, lonely and sad is just a myth,” DePaulo said.
What no one has told you about singles:
