If you’re a woman in a stable marriage, then there’s good news. A recent research study by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have found that marriage stability is directly related to better sleep for women. Results show that women who were stably married or who had gained a partner during the eight years of the study had better sleep than women who were unmarried or who had lost a partner over the course of the study follow-up.

According to the study’s lead author, Wendy Troxel, PhD, Assistant Professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, women who were stably married had the highest quality sleep measured objectively and subjectively, and these results persisted even after controlling for other known risk factors for sleep, including age, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and depressive symptoms. Troxel stated:

“Women who had ‘gained’ a partner over the eight years of the study had similar subjective sleep quality as compared to the stably married women; however, after looking at specific objective sleep measurements we discovered that these women had more restless sleep than the always married women. We speculate that these findings may reflect a ‘newlywed effect’ or simply the fact that these women may be less adjusted to sleeping with their partner than the ‘stably married’ women.”

Of course, the hard part is being in a stable marriage. However, this is one more study that shows marriage can actually be good for you, as long as it’s fulfilling and stable.