WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Researchers have found that when a partner experiences positive emotions, it may help reduce cortisol levels, the body's primary stress hormone, regardless of an individual's own emotional state.
To reach this conclusion, the researchers analyzed data from 321 long-term couples in Canada and Germany, with an average relationship duration of nearly 44 years.
Participants, aged between 56 and 87, completed multiple daily surveys over a week, documenting their emotions while also providing saliva samples for cortisol measurements. Each partner filled out the surveys separately to prevent influencing each other's responses.
According to lead study author Tomiko Yoneda, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of California, Davis, maintaining positive emotions within a relationship serves as a valuable social resource.
The findings, published in Psychoneuroendocrinology, highlighted the potential health benefits for older adults in long-term relationships. As people age, their ability to regulate stress responses weakens, increasing susceptibility to the negative effects of high cortisol. However, having a partner who frequently experiences positive emotions may act as a protective factor against stress.
The study revealed that when individuals reported feeling more positive than usual, their cortisol levels were lower. Interestingly, even if a person was not feeling particularly positive, their cortisol levels were still reduced when their partner reported higher positive emotions.
Notably, this effect extended beyond immediate moments to the overall daily cortisol output. When a partner experienced elevated positive emotions throughout the day, the other person exhibited lower cortisol levels for the entire day. The association was especially strong for older participants and those in happier relationships. In some instances, a partner's emotional state had a greater impact on cortisol levels than an individual's own emotions.
'Relationships provide an ideal source of support, especially when those are high-quality relationships,' says Yoneda. 'These dynamics may be particularly important in older adulthood.'
Yoneda further emphasized that relationships offer crucial support, particularly when they are of high quality. The study's results align with psychological theories suggesting that positive emotions improve adaptability which strengthens over time.
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