Students are choosing being single over relationships
Despite research showing romantic relationships increase general happiness, students at Langara and focusing on school rather than dating
Reported by Natalia Buendia Calvillo
Having an intimate relationship helps to reduce stress and increase happiness, but some full-time students at Langara College prefer to stay single.
When students were asked about the pros and cons of dating while studying full-time, most of them said it is a distraction from school and they do not have the time. The extra study time is preferred over the health and anti-stress qualities of having a healthy relationship.
The pros and cons
Business and administration student Abhishek Parasher thinks relationships take time and cost money.
“It’s expensive. Having a girlfriend is good because you are emotionally stable but you are not financially stable,” Parasher said.
Social researcher, author and sex educator, Ryan Levis, advocates having a relationship while being a student because it offers students strong emotional support.
“Emotionally supportive relationships are really good for mitigating stress,” he said. “If you have a crap relationship where you cannot discuss boundaries, then a needy or codependent relationship is going to compound the stress.”
It’s science
An article published in the Journal of Marriage and Family in 2017, stated that healthy affectional connections have been linked to higher rates of health and happiness, whereas the absence predisposes people to loneliness, dissatisfaction or low psychological well-being.
Endocrinology and behavioural neuroscience researchers have attributed the feeling of pleasure that comes from intimate relationships to oxytocin, a molecule secreted to the bloodstream by the pituitary gland.
Oxytocin, sometimes referred to as “the love hormone,” lowers stress and causes pleasure. Even with a light touch or a hug, the receptor neurons under the skin trigger the production which has anti-stress properties and makes people happy.
Full-time psychology student Hadil Ahmad has a long-term partner but says students should focus on school because an intimate relationship, regardless of how good it makes you feel, costs time and causes distraction.
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