How Companionship Keeps You Healthy

The value of social support has been hiding in plain sight for so long that it is amazing it took researchers so long to discover it. From the day that we are born, social support is essential to human survival. We have a more prolonged period of helplessness and dependency than any other mammal. For years, we must rely fully on our parent’s physical and social skills. Thousands of years ago, humans also discovered the survival advantage of organizing themselves into clans, tribes, villages, cities, and nations. Many other animals are stronger, faster, and endowed with more acute senses. But thanks to language and symbols, we humans have a unique ability to engage in complicated interactions, advance the common good and protect ourselves from predators – both animal and human. As a result, we have populated the entire habitable earth. Our clichés tell the tale: There’s strength in numbers.” Two heads are better than one.” “One for all, and all for one.”

But only since the advent of psychoneuroimmunology – the study of how emotions influence the central nervous system and the immune system – have scientists come to appreciate the fact that “all for one” means that the “all” has profound physiological impact on the “one.” In the 1940s, when researchers first documented the “marriage bonus” on health, they speculated how a stable home life might contribute to health and longevity.

Nutrition. Married people, especially those with children, are more likely than singles to eat healthfully.
Bad habits. The social support provided by marriage helps people avoid – and quit – bad habits, particularly smoking, excessive drinking and overeating.

What Is Cardiovascular Health?

We all remember our days in gym class of running laps and climbing ropes. We treasured playing dodge ball and running under a giant parachute. Aside from delighting our childlike desire to play, these activities were designed to accomplish an important purpose. Gym class and sports practices were developed to get our hearts pumping and to improve our cardiovascular endurance.

What is cardiovascular endurance?
Cardiovascular training involves exercises that recruit both our cardiovascular and respiratory systems. When you think of activities that cause your heart to beat faster or you to breathe rapidly, these are activities that improve your cardiovascular endurance. Cardiovascular training is often referred to simply as "cardio" or "aerobic" training and includes exercises such as cycling, running, walking, and swimming.

Why is cardiovascular endurance important?
Cardiovascular training engages both your cardiovascular and respiratory systems, or more simply, your heart and your lungs. Stressing these systems and organs through exercising teaches them to become stronger and more efficient. For example, the stroke volume (amount of blood that is ejected in one heart beat) of a trained athlete will be much higher than the stroke volume for an untrained individual. As a result, a trained athlete's heart at rest will be required to beat fewer times per minute than an untrained individual's. Improving the efficiency of these systems allows the body to maintain health with less strain and difficulty.

How do we measure cardiovascular endurance?
While many activities are outstanding methods to improve cardiovascular health, measuring the intensity of these activities is an important way to assess both effectiveness and improvement. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends that individuals train between 64 – 94% of their maximal heart rate to improve health and endurance.