Dating A Happy Person Can Boost Your Own Health, Science Says

If you find yourself feeling down and out, maybe it's time to take a little look at your relationship.

Anyone who's ever dated the textbook "bad boy" (otherwise known as the chronically negative, unmotivated loser who somehow knows exactly how to reel you in and keep you there) knows it can literally DESTROY your own health. Not just your mental health — as you drive yourself insane trying to figure out where you stand with him — but your physical health too.

On the nights you're with him, you damage your liver trying to keep up with him and his friends at shady bars you'd normally never be caught dead in. And then, there are the sleepless nights when you're not with him, which you spend lying in bed wondering what he could be doing and with whom.

But it doesn't have to be this way! You could be dating a HAPPY person, which would actually make YOU healthier, according to science.

A new study of 1,981 couples published in the journal Health Psychology has confirmed that having a happy partner or spouse is related to a boost in your own physical health.

Simply knowing your partner is pumped with his or her own life could decrease your impulses toward self-destructive outlets, such as drinking or drugs, says William Chopik, Ph.D., an assistant professor of psychology at Michigan State University and principal investigator of the study.

In fact, it can even increase your general happiness in ways that will leave you healthier down the road.

How? Well, the researchers found that happy partners are capable of taking the time to focus on YOU and provide both social support and care. Happier partners also help promote a healthy lifestyle by encouraging you to get enough sleep, eat healthy and exercise.

On the other hand, unhappy partners (ahem, like that pathetic loser of a bad boy you wasted your time on) are more likely to be focused on their own unhappiness and stress. So, sorry girl, but they're not going to be focusing much on you or how you haven't slept in a week. It ain't their problem!

So, if you've been feeling like crap lately, it's time to dump your loser, bad-boy boyfriend. Your HEALTH depends on it.

Citations: Wife, Happy Life: Study Shows Better Overall Health Goes Hand-In-Hand With A Pleased Spouse (Medical Daily), Having a happy spouse could be good for your health (Science Daily)