New Study Confirms Couples Who Drink Together Are Happier

According to a new study, couples who drink together, stay together.

Conducted at the University of Michigan and published in The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences, the study pooled 2,767 couples who had been married 33 years on average. Couples answered questions on their drinking habits and the state of their marriages over the course of 10 years, from 2006 to 2016.

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The results showed couples who drink the same amount and couples who don't drink at all are happier than those where one spouse drinks while the other abstains.

"The study shows that it's not about how much they're drinking, it's about whether they drink at all," Dr. Kira Birditt, who spearheaded the study, says.

Another interesting finding from the study is the amount of heavy drinkers in the baby boomer generation.

"About 20 percent of men and 6 percent of women had significant drinking problems," Dr. Fred Blow, a faculty member in the university's department of psychiatry, says. "Problem drinkers are a whole different kettle of fish."

But if you're enjoying the occasional bottle of wine together, toasting with a couple beers or choosing to take the night off, going at it together is what counts.

Here are some cocktail recipes to make while you're imbibing together:
An Aphrodisiac-Filled Cocktail
Beer Cassis
Red King Radish Cocktail
Wine Slushie