The associated reading assignment is:
Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K., & Wilson, S. J. (2017) Lovesick: How couples' relationships influence health. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 13, 421-443. (available here)
Please use the Comments link below (where it says how many comments there currently are) to share your ideas, including responding cordially and constructively to other students' comments. There is an "anonymous" option or you can identify yourself by writing your name at the bottom of your comment. If you leave anonymous comments, please e-mail me privately, so I'll know whom to credit.
I thought the Kiecolt-Glaser article was really interesting. There were many points about health and relationships that I would never think about myself, such as sleep. I thought it was really interesting that married couples sleep better, with the exception of marital discord. I would think that sharing a bed with another person might make sleep more difficult (snoring, not enough space, etc.), but it also makes sense to enjoy the security that comes with marriage. I also liked that this article discussed depression and its association with marital distress, which can also affect sleep patterns!
ReplyDeleteReviewing the lecture notes and reading assignment, I was surprised to learn about how telomere lengths can slightly change, just due to being divorced and experiencing that loneliness. I never really considered how getting divorced can have such lasting effects on the body. I also liked the illustration of how problems in a relationship can sometimes lead to major conditions and diseases. It was clear that if someone has prolonged stress from their relationship, that can lead to the overproduction of their inflammatory response which leads to various diseases and may even lead to death. Very interesting to learn.
ReplyDeleteCaroline Kolman
Hey Caroline,
DeleteI also found this to be really interesting. We've discussed in class how outside factors (environment and social factors) can alter a person's health both positively and negatively (an example of this is when we discussed how outside factors can affect pregnant women). I was very surprised to learn that something like divorce can affect us physically.
Reyna Ostos
In reviewing the Kiecolt-Glaser & Wilson paper it was interesting to note that the relationships between marital quality and health outcomes had similar effects in magnitude to the reported effects that diet and exercise also has on health. It goes to show the importance of not only having healthy marital quality, but intertwining and balancing physical activity and proper dieting within the marriage as well. The paper also addresses how couples mutually influence each other’s mental and physical health trajectories. This is good information to note when it comes to understating that every aspect within a marriage can affect an individuals health one way or another. Figure 1 shows support in how couples' health and health behaviors are often similar and tend to converge overtime. Factors as such highlight the benefits of assortative mating, which is where people typically choose a partner who is similar in terms of attitudes and demographics, as well as health-related behaviors like diet, physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption, and BMI. This paper is a good read as we continue on in current and/or future relationship; it allows us take on and understand a new way in viewing how couples’ convergence carries great weight in health implications.
ReplyDeleteThis article was very interesting and insightful. Coming from a divorced family, I can actually see some connections between my family and the research. Specifically the sleep patterns. I noticed when my parents were together, they could sleep on a normal basis of 8 hours, but when they split this changes. When they had to sleep alone I noticed that their patterns changed. They went from 8 hours to sleeping for maybe 6 hours if they were lucky, but a majoritiy of 4 hours. I guess I never realized that sleeping a part from somone could greatly affect their patterns of sleep. This article was a fascinating piece.
ReplyDelete-Skylar Flores