Do you have a habit of drinking with your partner? If so, the following study might bring you some good news!

A study published in the medical journal The Gerontologist suggests that couples with similar drinking habits tend to live longer compared to couples where only one partner drinks or neither drinks.

The report was presented by Dr. Kira S. Birditt, a leading researcher from the University of Michigan. She stated that the inspiration for the study came from the ‘drinking partner effect’ theory found in alcohol-related literature, which suggests that couples with similar drinking patterns tend to have better marriages.

In an interview, Dr. Birditt explained that the study aimed to examine the drinking habits of couples and their impact on mortality. The research followed 4,566 married heterosexual couples, all over the age of 50, for twenty years. Every two years, the researchers conducted interviews with these couples, not focusing on the common questions about the amount or type of alcohol consumed, but rather on whether the respondents had drunk alcohol with their partners in the past three months.

Dr. Birditt noted, ‘Interestingly, we found that couples who reported drinking together in the past three months had a longer lifespan than those who either both did not drink or had inconsistent drinking patterns (one partner drinks while the other does not).’

However, Dr. Birditt also clarified that the research team has yet to determine why ‘drinking together’ is associated with longevity. The researchers believe that similar drinking behaviors might reflect compatibility in lifestyle, intimacy, and relationship satisfaction between partners. They also caution that these findings should not be interpreted as an endorsement of increased alcohol consumption.

Dr. Birditt mentioned that the research team plans to consider other forms of assessment in the future, such as conducting surveys on daily life to further understand the connection between ‘drinking together’ and longevity.