Dying Over Divorce

According to a new study, divorce could kill you. 

This research comes as lawyers get ready for a surge in inquiries from married couples planning to split up after the holidays.  The number of people wanting to start divorce proceedings is said to peak on the first working Monday after New Year—dubbed “Divorce Day.” 

A growing body of research links divorce to negative health effects and early death.  Authors of a study published in the journal Health Psychology suggest divorce related sleep troubles are partly to blame.  “In the initial few months after a separation, sleep problems are probably pretty normal, and this is an adjustment process that people can typically cope with well.  But sleep problems that persist for an extended period may mean something different.  It may mean that people are potentially becoming depressed, that they’re struggling with getting their life going again, and it is these people that are particularly susceptible to health problems.” 

See Angus Howarth, Why Getting Divorce Could Just Kill You, The Scotsman, Jan. 3, 2015. 

Special thanks to Brian Cohan (Attorney at Law, Law Offices of Brian J. Cohan, P.C.) for bringing this article to my attention.