{"id":522976,"date":"2026-03-14T10:33:24","date_gmt":"2026-03-14T10:33:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/522976\/"},"modified":"2026-03-14T10:33:24","modified_gmt":"2026-03-14T10:33:24","slug":"men-who-marry-intelligent-women-may-be-less-likely-to-develop-dementia-study-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/522976\/","title":{"rendered":"Men Who Marry Intelligent Women May Be Less Likely To Develop Dementia, Study Finds"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dementia affects more than 55 million people worldwide, and researchers have spent decades<\/a> trying to understand what lifestyle and relationship factors might slow its progression or delay its onset. One area that keeps coming up is cognitive stimulation, which is the idea that keeping your brain actively engaged over the course of a lifetime offers real, measurable protection against decline.<\/p>\n

If you marry someone smart<\/a> \u2014\u00a0someone who keeps you on your toes and your mind stimulated \u2014\u00a0you can ward off the symptoms of mental illnesses like dementia and Alzheimer’s. It’s great to have someone who loves you, even if they don’t remember you. Something something about love conquering all. And also, someone has to be organized and own a daily planner, and it’s not going to be me. I can’t even remember Post-its.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to a study, men who marry intelligent women may be less likely to develop dementia.<\/p>\n

\"smiling Maria Lupan \/ Unsplash<\/p>\n

At the Oxford Literary Festival, Lawrence Whalley, professor of mental health\u00a0at the University of Aberdeen<\/a>, and\u00a0author of the book Understanding Brain Aging and Dementia,<\/a>\u00a0discussed his theory that men who marry intelligent women are less likely to develop dementia later in life. It makes you wonder if it’s the same for women.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dementia isn’t a specific disease \u2014 it’s a general term used to describe a variety of symptoms connected to a decline in memory and other thinking skills severe enough\u00a0to reduce an individual’s ability to perform everyday activities. Alzheimer’s disease accounts for 60 to 80 percent of cases.<\/a><\/p>\n

There were an estimated 46.8 million people worldwide living with dementia in 2015. And this number will probably almost double every 20 years, reaching 74.7 million in 2030 and 131.5 million in 2050.<\/p>\n

In the past, research has suggested that activities<\/a> such as crossword puzzles, reading, and visiting museums can help reduce the risk of developing the condition.\u00a0<\/p>\n

RELATED: Husbands Who Marry These Kind Of Wives Are Healthier With Less Memory Issues, Research Reveals<\/a><\/p>\n

Professor Whalley encouraged men to ‘marry an intelligent woman’ to stave off dementia.<\/p>\n

However, in his talk, Dementia: How Can We Protect Ourselves?<\/a>,\u00a0Whalley said, “The thing a man is never told he needs to do if he wants to live a longer life \u2014 but what he should do \u2014 is marry an intelligent woman. There is no better buffer than intelligence.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

There is also nothing more attractive than intelligence. \u00a0If you’re not too worried about Dementia, then still marry them because they’re intelligent. They’ll keep you on your toes forever.<\/p>\n

Whalley contends that a spouse who challenges and fascinates their partner could help to slow down the aging process.\u00a0Whalley also said that losing a family member at an early age could affect an individual’s mental health decades later.<\/p>\n

“Studies have shown<\/a> that the death of a mother before the age of five is a very important risk factor for dementia in later life,” he said.<\/p>\n

While we have no control over our early lives, we can choose to marry a smart person who keeps us sharp.<\/p>\n

So choose someone with a big heart and a big brain. And, maybe you can be that person for someone else. Someone who loves, even when they don’t remember.<\/p>\n

The relationships we choose, the conversations we keep having, and the people who push us to stay curious and engaged may matter far more to our long-term brain health than we ever gave them credit for. Loving someone well and being loved well back might be one of the best things you can do for your mind.<\/p>\n

RELATED: 11 Reasons Men Who Marry Empath Wives Turn Out Way Happier In Life<\/a><\/p>\n

Christine\u00a0Schoenwald<\/a>\u00a0is a writer, performer, and astrology lover. She’s had articles in The Los Angeles Times, Salon, and Woman’s Day.<\/p>\n

Related Stories From YourTango:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dementia affects more than 55 million people worldwide, and researchers have spent decades trying to understand what lifestyle…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":522977,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[6053,235767,1103,97,35199,10825,13655,20464],"class_list":["post-522976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-alzheimers","tag-buzz","tag-dementia","tag-health","tag-intelligence","tag-love","tag-marriage","tag-smart"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=522976"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522976\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/522977"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=522976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=522976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=522976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}