Whether you have been together for one year or ten years – all relationships require effort from both sides to maintain your connection. Below are three tips on how you and your partner can maintain a healthy relationship together.
Try new things together
No matter how much you love your partner or value your relationship, it’s not uncommon to feel a little bored in your relationship from time to time! One study found that after about one year the honeymoon phase starts to fade and couples tend to need to actively start working to maintain their relationship and bring back the spark.
The key? Trying new things together and communicating honestly and openly! Studies show that when couples try new things together, they report being happier. That’s why we pulled together 34 Date Night Ideas for Every Kind of Couple.
But there is a catch! Make sure that when you’re trying new things together, both you and your partner are on board with the idea. Research that tracked American married couples over time found that when spouses engaged in activities that husbands liked but wives did not, spouses were more prone to relationship unhappiness even a decade later!
So… make sure you’re trying something new together that both you and your partner are excited about.
Spend quality time with your partner
Why is it so important that we book quality time with our partners? After a few years in a long-term relationship, that initial electricity you had when you first met mellows out into a small sizzle. Passion starts to look less like grand gestures and weekends away and more like routine and comfortable complacency. But after spending weeks months and years with someone, it’s only natural that it doesn’t feel like Guy Fawkes every night and that’s okay. But there’s one really easy thing you can do to keep the fire alive.
Dating your long-term partner – whether it’s been 6 months or 16 years is one of the best and easiest things to do to maintain your relationship. It’s equally important in maintaining a healthy and lasting relationship as it is in kicking one off!
Using two nationally representative samples of American couples, researchers found that, relative to couples who spend less quality time together, married couples who reported engaging in couple time with their partner at least once a week were 3.5 more likely to report they were very happy in their relationship. Yes, you read that right 3.5 times more likely! This effect was even stronger in non-married women who were living with their partners and was observed above and beyond other important factors that influence relationships like income, ethnicity, and age.
So, how can you make sure you are maximizing the chances that date night will lead to a higher-quality relationship? Book more date nights, using tools like those on Cupla!
Time is the currency of relationships. Investing time in your relationship allows you to build memories together, strengthen bonds, and overall enrich your relationship with your partner.
Plan time together, regularly
While the quality of time you spend with your partner is important, the other factor at play is how often you do so! While one great date night a year might work for some couples, others would prefer a weekly date night where they get to spend one one-on-one time together.
First up, communicate with your partner to see what you both would ideally like in terms of your date night frequency! Many couples solve the problem by putting a ‘date night’ in their diary. Instead of leaving it up to fate, there are so many tools out there to help couples spend regular time together. Cupla has a suite of tools to help you do this – including a shared calendar to help you plan time together, and a date planner to keep you on track with date night.
But one size does not fit all! While an app like Cupla might work for busy couples who are looking for an easy solution on their phone while they’re on the go, perhaps a wall calendar works for you and your partner to keep track of your time together.
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In conclusion, there is no one solution to maintaining your relationship with your partner. A million and one tips are floating around in books, TV, movies, magazines, social media…
To wrap up my three tips for a healthy relationship: start by communicating your needs with your partner openly and honestly, trying new things, and making sure that you’re spending regular, quality time together.