Do you schedule a weekly “date night” with your partner?
Or have you got more of an ad hoc approach to going out together?
Wait a minute. You do go out together don’t you?
Spending quality time together is great. And there are a range of places to go, things to do, etc…
Unfortunately researchers now claim that just being together isn’t enough to prevent your relationship from getting stale.
“What?” I hear you ask “Are you saying we need to do more than share dinner with friends?”
It appears so.
Time to reinvent date night.
Scientists have found (using laboratory studies, real-world experiments and brain-scan data) that the way to keep your love alive does not involve visiting the usual places and doing the same old things. Instead you need to branch out and date night is the perfect opportunity to do this. You just need to find new and different activities that you can both share and enjoy.
Professor of social psychology, Arthur Aron, says you need to keep injecting novelty into your relationship. This can be something as simple as trying a new restaurant. Or it could be getting adventurous and trying something thrilling. I’m talking theme parks and escape rooms, not swinging from the chandeliers here.
In tests, Dr. Aron and his colleagues found that couples who had “exciting” date nights showed a bigger increase in satisfaction with their relationship than those that went on “pleasant” date nights.
He also found that couples in the lab who took part in more challenging and novel activities showed marked increases in their satisfaction scores. Couples performing mundane tasks, however, showed no meaningful changes. While its acknowledged that such findings are unlikely to save a marriage in crisis, for couples who have a reasonably good, but slightly dull relationship, bringing in novelty can help relight old flames.
Scientists believe regular injections of novelty and excitement most likely play a role in keeping your relationship alive. As Dr Helen Fisher says “You don’t have to swing from the chandeliers. Anything that’s new or interesting — or even slightly dangerous — will help sustain feelings of love. And it will certainly kill feelings of boredom.”
Ideas for “Date Night”
If you would like ideas on what to do on Date Night with your partner, download a FREE checklist from http://clika.pe/l/6076/63841/