Study finds date nights are important for married couples
It can be difficult for couples, especially couples who’ve been married for decades, to find time to go on dates together. After all, aren’t dates for people who are dating? But a study has found that having weekly one-on-one time will profoundly benefit your relationship.
A report by the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia entitled “The Date Night Opportunity” has found that couples that devote time specifically to one another at least once a week are more likely to have better relationships than couples who don’t. In fact, couples who rarely have couple time together were almost twice as likely to get divorced.
The authors of the report identified five ways that a date night strengthened marriages.
- Communication – date nights give spouses an opportunity to discuss things that are important to them.
- Novelty – date nights help couples engage in novel activities that break the routine and helps avoid taking the relationship for granted.
- Eros – date nights allow spouses to engage in romantic activities with one another and increases their sexual satisfaction.
- Commitment – date nights strengthen the commitment by fostering togetherness and signalling to others that the spouses take their relationship seriously.
- De-stress – date nights allow spouses to enjoy time with one another and relieve the life stress they experience.
“Date nights allow couples to focus on their relationship, to share feelings, to engage in romantic activities with one another and to try new things,” says the report. It may also “strengthen or rekindle that romantic spark” that is often lost with the passing of the years.
The surveyed couples who had weekly dates reported higher levels of communication, romantic love, sexual satisfaction and commitment to the relationship. But the couples in the study were doing more than the tired old favourite of dinner and movie night, and were instead engaging in fun and active activities such as hiking, dancing, traveling and card games. In other words, couples were more likely to benefit from regular dates if they took it as an opportunity to truly engage with each other in different, exciting and fun ways.
As the report co-author W. Bradford Wilcox, director of the National Marriage Project and an associate professor of sociology, notes: "Taking time for your relationship – whether outside the home or inside the home – is good for your relationship health. This isn't rocket science, but it's an important reminder."
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