苦命的男人 退休後身體會變差?

Most married men look forward to retirement, with all the gardening and games of golf it’ll bring But a study shows that many actually feel in worse health once they stop working. But fortunately things do improve: husbands begin to feel healthier when their wives retire too and begin looking after them more carefully, researchers from the University of Missouri discovered.

有人責備，現在的年輕人一上班就想着什麼時候能退休，也許，退休對於年輕人來說有可能還算是“遙遙無期”的一個詞語，但是對於那些在職場生涯中“摸爬滾打”了幾十年的“已婚人士”來說，退休可以算是一個能讓他們好好享受下他們的晚年生活的一個最好方式，對於已婚男來說，他們多麼渴望退休後能和老友相聚打上幾桿高爾夫或者打理打理自家的花園同時鍛鍊身體，把在工作中養成的“亞健康生活方式”一併糾正。然而，事實卻不像他們想象得那麼樣簡單。據美國密蘇里大學的調查，已婚男人一旦停止工作，進入退休狀態中，他們的健康狀況會越變越糟，但是，當他們的老婆一退休時，這種情況會稍有改變，因爲他們的愛人會對他們百般照顧。

However, despite their perception of being in worse health after retiring, it is actually all in their heads. The risk of heart attacks in men actually declined once they began drawing a pension, the study showed. There was, however, no change in women. The research was presented at the annual meeting of the Gerontological Society of America, which has a mission to ‘advance the study of ageing and disseminate information among scientists, decision makers, and the general public’.

儘管如此，已婚男人退休後的身體狀況還是引來了必要的關注，有意思的是，調查還發現，當男人們開始能領取養老金的那一刻開始，他們患上心臟病的機率就開始降低。與此相反，這個情況在女士們身上並沒有明顯的變化。（難道男人越老越摳麼？哈哈，他們到底有多愛錢啊。）這項研究由“ the Gerontological Society of America”牽頭，意在調查年齡變化對人的生理以及心理造成的影響。

Lead researcher Assistant Professor Angela Curl, said: ‘When wives retire, they may monitor their husbands’ health more closely, taking them to the doctor regularly and ensuring they lead a healthy lifestyle.‘Women traditionally put the needs of everyone else before themselves, a behaviour that could put their own health at risk. ‘There are a lot of health benefits to staying employed. Working just a few hours each week can facilitate better health.’

首席研究員教授Angela Curl說：“女人的力量是功不可沒的，當妻子們退休的時候，她們會把自己的全身心投入在照顧自己丈夫的事業中，比如定期帶他們去看醫生、嘮嘮叨叨直到他們改正他們的壞毛病和不健康的生活方式。當人們退休了，會重新審視自己的職場生涯，回顧自己的工作歷程後不僅發現，自己忙忙碌碌處於玩命賺錢時的身體還特別健康。我認爲，每週幾個小時的身體鍛鍊足以讓身體處於最佳的狀態中。”

Professor Curl added that when it comes to retirement, the key thing is to plan carefully for it. She added: ‘Any time a major life change happens, it is an opportunity for renegotiation of roles within a couple. 'If a couple wants positive changes to occur in retirement, it is important for spouses to be intentional in negotiating and planning for activities that match their ideals, finances and current health status.’

教授Curl補充道：“當退休的鐘聲敲響時，最關鍵的就是要好好的規劃它。當一個大的改變擺在我們面前的時候，對於調整我們固有的生活狀態絕對是一個好的方式。此外，兩夫婦規劃自己的退休生活時，要做到從自己的經濟基礎以及身體健康狀況出發，量力而爲才能取得最好效果。”