Valentine’s Day is all about love, but whether you enjoy pink hearts and poetry or could do without the schmaltz, love itself yields important health benefits that can impact your mental, emotional and physical well-being. Specifically, a healthy relationship can lower your risk for heart disease, certain cancers and pneumonia.

One of the primary ways in which social connections influence our physical health is through their effect on our stress physiology. High levels of physiological stress are associated with the activity of our nervous and endocrine systems and with increased heart rate, blood pressure, and cortisol production. While a healthy response to stress is necessary for dealing with life’s challenges, over time elevated levels of stress can cause wear and tear on the body.

Research has also shown that a varied social network can protect against declining physical health even when other mortality risk factors such as obesity, inflammation and high blood pressure are low. These findings are especially true for young people whose isolation is associated with an increased risk of long-term health problems such as heart disease and diabetes. Online dating can help with this.