Most of the tips to help lower the risk of developing dementia usually includes eating a healthy diet, exercise, social interaction with others and keeping one’s mind tasked and active. Some sources recommend having a pet and spending at least 10 minutes a day petting that pet. I’ve also seen reports that managing and reducing stress will help reduce the risk of developing dementia, including Alzheimer’s.

Some more unconventional or unproven methods of reducing the risk of dementias includes avoid drinking from aluminum cans, eliminate eating red meat or fatty and processed meats and even taking a host of vitamins and supplements.

But have you ever considered the possibility that being married can reduce the risk of developing dementia? Consider this report:

Marriage has been said to deflect depression, stave off stress, even help people live longer.

Now a new study says it may also decrease your chance of developing dementia.

Dementia is a general term for a decline in mental ability severe enough to interfere with daily life.

Married people have a far lower chance of being diagnosed with this dreaded disorder than those who are divorced or separated, widowed, or never married, according to the study. And marriage is more protective than cohabitation, the study revealed.

If marriage helps reduce the risk of dementia, then what about divorce? Per the same report:

Divorced people have more than twice the odds for mental decline compared to married folks, the 14-year study found.

And divorced men have it worse: They have a 2.6 times higher chance of developing dementia than married men, while divorced women have a 30% increased risk versus married women.

But what is it about marriage and divorce that impacts the risk of developing dementia?

“There are a lot of theories about why marriage might be good for general health,” says Hui Liu, lead investigator and professor of sociology at Michigan State University.

“Married people, of course, are financially better off than those who do not have a spouse,” she said. “But there are factors other than economics that play just as strongly into this. There’s the social psychology benefit.”

While the study only found an association rather than a cause-and-effect link, it noted that divorce can lead to financial and emotional stress, which may directly affect mental, or cognitive, function. And the stress and depression that can come from divorce can potentially lead to dementia.

It’s all about the part of the brain called the cortex, according to Linda Waite, a professor of urban sociology at the University of Chicago. “The cortex evolved as the center of cognitive processing,” she said. “It manages our level of functioning. If it falls below the level of normal functioning, that’s when dementia happens.”

Emotional support is key to preventing dementia, said Waite, who wasn’t involved in the study. “Married people find their social network through their spouse, their friends and family, their sense of belonging. Being married increases social integration, which promotes cognitive health,” she noted.

Bottom line – find the right spouse and work to keep your marriage lasting and happy, realizing that if you choose divorce, you increase your risk of developing dementia.