Why you SHOULD rob the cradle....

     This is just a heads-up to all you COUGARS out there, to let you know that preying on younger guys might be fun now, but it's going to put you in an early grave.

But GUYS???  It's game on for you and that 21-year old!

 At least that's according to a new study from the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Germany.  

According to the study, men who marry younger women live longer lives.  Overall, a man who's married to a woman that's seven to nine years younger is 11% less likely to die.  But for women, the exact opposite is true.  In fact, when a woman marries a man that's seven to nine years younger, it actually increases her mortality risk by 20%.  A guy named Sven Drefahl led the study.  He says the, quote, "reasons for mortality differences due to the age gap of the spouses remain unclear."  But he's got a few theories about it.

Basically, Sven says that younger women take better care of their older husbands, helping them to lead healthier lives, both physically and socially.  But younger guys don't necessarily do the same when they're married to an older woman.

Plus, it's not as socially acceptable for an older woman to marry a younger man.  Theoretically, that could result in a, quote, "less joyful and more stressful life, reduced health, and finally, increased mortality." Overall, the study found that women live the longest when they're married to someone who's of the exact same age.