Stressed at work? Being happily married may help

After a long hard day at work, a little quality time with your sweetie may just improve your health. That's what Canadian researchers found when they studied the blood pressure of 229 healthy adults. Those who reported high job stress and martial disharmony had an increase of three points in their systolic blood pressure reading. On the other hand, participants who were stressed out at work, but reported marital bliss, were more likely to have dropped their systolic reading by three points.

Chronic stress can create inflammation in the body, caused by stress hormones. It appears that the comfort of a loving and non-stressful relationship at home can reverse that trend, despite having a stressful job. But when work and home are filled with stress or tension, it apparently can affect a person's health.

So if you find yourself stressed out at every turn, keep an eye on that blood pressure. Interested in reading more? Here are a couple of articles that may help you reduce stress at home or at work.