Relationship question 1:
People in happy relationships are more likely to . . .
A. eat less.
B. sleep better.
C. spend more money.
(B) In general, married people are more likely to sleep for the optimal amount of time each night—6.5 to 7.5 hours. Singles tend to sleep too little or too much, neither of which is healthy in the long run.
Relationship question 2:
Love can help your body . . .
A. heal wounds.
B. eliminate wrinkles.
C. improve memory.
(A) They say time heals all wounds. Well, apparently love helps too. The hormones released by your brain when you’re in love also seem to aid the body’s healing process. But this is only true if you’re happy—anger or arguing can slow the healing process.
Relationship question 3:
Which of the following poetic advice is best for couples?
A. “If music be the food of love, play on.”—William Shakespeare
B. “A jug of wine, a loaf of bread—and thou/Beside me singing in the wilderness.”—Omar Khayyam
C. “We’ll gently walk, and sweetly talk/Till the silent moon shine clearly/I’ll grasp thy waist, and, fondly prest/Swear how I love thee dearly.”—Robert Burns
(C) Music and food may help keep the romantic flame burning, but the best thing you can do for yourselves is engage in regular exercise. Couples in long-term relationships tend to become sedentary, which leads to weight gain and its associated health problems. In fact, married people typically weigh about five pounds more than their unmarried peers.
Relationship question 4:
When your partner is singing the blues, the smartest classic rock song for you to hum is . . .
A. “We Gotta Get Out of This Place.”
B. “Lean on Me.”
C. “Hit the Road Jack.”
(A) Watching your love suffer causes physical stress on your body, and raises your blood pressure and heart rate. Yet, doing too much for a partner in distress can prolong the pain and discourage healing. Be loving and considerate, but instead of pouring on the TLC, create a diversion to take your partner’s mind off the pain, help their recovery and keep yourself sane.
Relationship question 5:
There’s no guarantee that a couple will be happy together forever, but this can help:
A. Going to church
B. Being polite
C. Being of a similar age
(B) After “I love you,” the most important “three little words” in a relationship are “please” and “thank you.” Age and religion play less of a role than politeness in creating healthy relationships. In fact, hostile words have been linked to the likelihood of developing atherosclerosis, especially for women.
