Are date nights important for a healthy relationship? Yep! You better believe it! It can be easy to lose focus on your relationship with the demands of life. The bright side is date nights don’t have to be elaborate, time consuming or even at night. Date nights are key to a healthy, long-lasting relationship.
Date Nights In A Healthy Relationship
Do you remember what it was like when you first started dating? Do you recall the fun you used to have? Remember fun?!
You can have that feeling again! Date nights give us the opportunity to give our full attention to our partner. Even when we sit down to dinner together as a family, it can be difficult to talk without interruptions from kids, phones or chores.
Date nights help to strengthen our relationship. We get to focus on each other and really hear what our partner has to say. We get to see them without the stress of life and everyday duties. Carving out a couple hours a week helps us to remember who we are to each other. Who we fell in love with. And why. There is a good chance that along the way we may have forgotten some of the wonderful qualities our partner possesses. Date nights are a way to hone in on those feelings and feel like a couple again.
Date Nights Increase Overall Happiness in Relationships
When was your last date with your partner? Can you actually come up with a time or place? Are you still trying to remember? It’s been way too long if you can’t just spit out the day and event.
If you’ve been married for a while, it can be easy to get in a pattern of work, school, activities, repeat. It’s easy to fill your schedule and not leave any space for your relationship. Let’s get out of that trap!
Couples who engage in regular date nights aren’t just happier as couples, they are happier as individuals, too. When you feel heard, loved and respected, overall happiness increases. Dating your spouse has the potential to not only increase the connection with your partner, but increase your own level of happiness in life. That’s quite a lot of output for just a couple hours each week.
How To Date Your Spouse
A decade (or 2 or 3) ago it was easy to make a date. Friday and Saturday nights were the go-to. Dinner and movies, clubs and happy hour. We didn’t have to put much thought into carving out a couple hours for some fun with our partner. But now? Now we may have to work a little harder.
How do you make sure you show up on time for an appointment? How do you know who needs to be at practice, who needs to be at the gym, or who needs picked up? Odds are you have a calendar of appointments, meetings, deadlines, pickups, etc. Get your date night on that calendar!
Remember here that date night does not mean nighttime. Saturday morning works just as well! Talk to your partner, find a couple hours that work each week, and put them in your calendar. Saturday breakfast at a new cafe. Sunday morning coffee and a walk in a park. Tuesday night dinner at a restaurant. Carve a couple hours into each week for one on one time with your partner and watch your relationship change.
Couples Counseling Date Night
Are you finding it difficult to talk to your partner? Have you been having the same fight over and over without any resolution? Have you considered couples therapy? While a therapy date night may not sound glamorous, it can have a huge impact on the overall health and happiness of your relationship.
Counseling can help you find ways to resolve conflict and help you feel closer to your partner again. Learning better ways to communicate is always effective. And marriage/couples counseling is a great place to learn how to communicate so you can feel heard and appreciated, again.
Make counseling into a date night. Before or after your session, get dinner, grab coffee, or go for a walk. You can discuss more of what you talked about in your session and grow together. Or you can simply talk and be together.
However you choose to “date,” make sure to carve out time for your partner. Your relationship, and your overall well-being, will thank you.
Couples Counseling In Washington, PA
If you are in the Washington, PA area, if you have any questions or if you would like to get to know me a little better, please call (724) 503-6670 or email me at admin@inthenowcounseling.org. You can also reach me on Facebook and Instagram, too.
Wherever you find yourself in your relationship, make time for each other.
