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A healthy diet can help you maintain normal blood pressure, but having a romantic partner can also be beneficial.
Researchers at the University of Arizona recently conducted a study published in the journal Psychophysiology to determine how close relationships affect blood pressure.
To do this, they asked 102 people in committed relationships to carry out a stressful task. They were told to dive their foot in 3 inches of cold water ranging from 38 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
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When the subjects completed the badignment, they were randomly badigned to one of the following three conditions. They had either their important partner sitting quietly in the room, or they were asked to think of their loving partner as a source of support or to reflect on their day.
The team measured the group's blood pressure, heart rate and heart rate variability before, during and after the task.
After badyzing the results, they found that those whose partner was physically present or those who thought about their partner had a lower blood pressure response than the task, compared to others.
"The findings may help explain, in part, why high-quality love relationships are consistently badociated with positive health outcomes in the scientific literature," co-author Kyle Bourbada said in a statement. "And it seems like thinking of your partner as a source of support can be as powerful as actually having them."
The authors noted their limitations. They only evaluated the students but hope to observe people of different ages. Nevertheless, they believe that romantic relationships can help reduce stress.
"There are many situations, including at work, with school exams or even during medical procedures, where it would be beneficial to limit our level of blood pressure responsiveness," said Bourbada, "and these findings suggest that A relational approach to doing this can be quite powerful. "
© 2019 Cox Media Group.
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