Have you ever stopped to notice what happens to your body when, after an intense day at work or dealing with the kids nonstop, you seek out your partner, a trusted family member or a good friend for support? When you’re connected to someone — where love, support and emotional intimacy are the foundation — and you’re able to be in the presence of that person, there’s a whole measurable physiological response that happens: “Your muscles relax, you feel calmer and you don’t have stress hormones being pumped and dumped throughout your body,” says Jane Ehrman, MEd, CHES, a mind-body medicine specialist at the Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Integrative Medicine.
In a word, more and more, science is backing up what we’ve instinctively known all along: Having at least one healthy relationship — and ideally more than one — is as critical to your health as good nutrition, exercise and stress management, say Cleveland Clinic docs.
Learn how to live happy, eat well and be strong—with help from Cleveland Clinic.
