Single people low-key ruled 2017, and the reasons why might surprise you

The 2017 holiday season is almost in the bag. And if you’re single, you’re probably way over the questions from well-meaning family members about your relationship status. If you’re dreading New Year’s Eve for that very reason, you’re in luck! As it turns out, researchers learned some cool stuff about single people in 2017.

Shocker, right? Or maybe you’re already hip to the news that being single is good for you, and now it’s science that’s playing catch-up. Even if you love your single status, it’s nice to have some added validation about how much you rock, like hearing there are benefits to being single that married people don’t have. Fret not, single friends: Social psychologist and author Bella DePaulo has some excellent reasons to be psyched about our singledom.

First off, if you’re living alone, count yourself among a growing population of fabulous solo dwellers. According to an article DePaulo wrote for The Cut, 42 percent of adults are now living alone, up from 39 percent in 2007. In other words, there’s no shame in not shacking up with a partner, even if it feels like everyone else around you is happily settled down. Statistically speaking, you’re not an anomaly.

Hey, if it was good enough for Beyoncé, it’s good enough for me.

Another fun fact? Marriage isn’t the measuring stick for a successful adult life anymore. “More than half of the participants in a nationally representative sample (55 percent) said that getting married was not an important criterion for becoming an adult,” DePaulo wrote. Congrats, y’all! You’re still an adult, even if your left ring finger is looking a little lonely these days.

Also, people in relationships don’t have better self-esteem or better health than singles.

Great news for all of us who are doin’ life solo. In a study of 79,000 U.S. women, those who stayed single or got divorced ate healthier, drank less, and exercised more than their coupled-up counterparts, according to The Cut.

There’s one more especially enticing benefit to not being part of a couple.

Single people are having more sex than married people.

While research indicates that adults in general are having less sex, that’s not the case for single people — who are now gettin’ busy more frequently than married people, studies show.

Isn’t that the perfect comeback for when Aunt Martha asks why a pretty girl like you is still single this holiday season?