Love is in the air,  and if you are in a committed relationship - here is some good news - it may actually be good for your heart. In general, married people live longer, have better access to health care, experience less stress have lower rates of heart disease, diabetes, and depression compared to their single counterparts.

And if you develop heart problems, research shows married people are more likely to survive a heart-related procedure.But it’s not just romantic love that can improve your heart health. Having close, loving relationships with your friends and family can have cardiovascular benefits as well. So, when it comes to our heart, love may not be all we need, but it certainly helps.

Here are the three main health benefits of love from your tango...

1. Love produces positive emotions.

Love is known to bring about many positive emotions. Laughter is one of those emotions. Laughter is known to be healing to the soul and good for your mental well-being. As they say, “laughter is the best medicine.”It’s a very powerful antidote to fight stress, conflict and pain both mentally and physically. Love also has the power to heal and renew ones mental, emotional and physical well being. Research shows that loving acts neutralize the kind of negative emotions that adversely affect immune, endocrine and cardiovascular function.

2. Love helps you live longer and fights disease.

There have been studies that show even patients who are diagnosed with cancer have recovered from cancer treatment faster when they had strong family connections. Also, those in loving partnerships recovered quicker or completely eliminated the cancer with no scientific explanation other than the fact the patient had great love and support from close family and friends.The feeling of “butterflies in your stomach” is an actual physical reaction caused when our body responds to the strong attraction that is felt when one is “falling in love” or “in love” with someone else. Physically, your heart rate increases which causes increased blood flow to all parts of your body including your sexual organs. This actually has a positive effect on the mind and body.

3. Love keeps the doctor away.

Many studies prove that people in a loving, long-term relationship have longer average life spans than those that are not in a partnership. Typically, when you’re in a relationship, your partner cares about your health. Therefore, he or she will encourage you to watch your health and discourage bad habits such as smoking, doing drugs or working too much. No one who loves another person wants to see their partner sick. “Endorphins are the key. According to the National Institute of Health, love triggers the hormone oxytocin which makes us feel good. It also lowers the levels of stress chemicals in our system. Physical contact like cuddles, hugs and kisses trigger the production of oxytocin,” said Jodi Prohofsky, Ph.D., L.M.F.T

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