Researchers from Brigham Young University, the University of Utah and Cal State Long Beach recorded ambulatory blood pressure readings of 198 married men and women between the ages of
20 to 68 over one 24-hour period.

They found that 70 percent couples had children of various ages. The participants in the study also wore blood pressure monitors which took readings at irregular intervals during the day. It included the duration of their sleep giving researchers a good estimate of daily blood pressure highs and lows.

Parents scored 4.5 points lower than those who don’t have kids in systolic blood pressure and almost 3 points lower in diastolic blood pressure.

The researchers reached these numbers after accounting for such different variables like age, body mass, exercise, being employed, and smoking. They observed that although the study took blood pressure readings only once.

Lead researcher Julianne Holt-Lunstad, via a news release. Holt-Lunstad is in the department of psychology at BYU said, “While caring for children may include daily hassles, deriving a sense of meaning and purpose from life's stress has been shown to be associated with better health outcomes.”