Make Your Love Life Sizzle

Getting away can reconnect you as a couple and allow you the space and time to feel and demonstrate your feelings for one another. But if you expect one break to turn a relationship around or bring the sizzle back without some effort of your own, well, that's asking a lot.

Make the most of your vacation time, though, and you will see the rewards. A holiday that is truly romantic can remind you why you chose each other in the first place and revitalize you so you come home feeling loved, happy and ready to tackle everyday life again as a team. Here are some key things to remember.

Have realistic expectations

 

A romantic holiday can rejuvenate the chemistry and connection between you and it can make you feel loved and desired – something that often falls down the priority list in everyday life. Feeling loving and loved on a holiday can put you both in a good mood, not only for the days of your getaway, but for weeks and months afterwards.

A week away will not fix regular arguments or unhealthy communication patterns. A romantic holiday is not the time to overhaul your relationship. But it is the time to invest in your bond. If you have real issues, commit to working on those when you get home. During the holiday, have realistic goals of enjoying each other company again, relaxing together, listening to one another and minimizing any bickering. 

Meet both your needs

A romantic holiday must take into account the needs and desires of both partners in the bedroom and outside it, too. If one of you wants to see the sights and the other wants to sleep in, figure out a way to do both  while still spending most of the time together.

Early in a relationship, we easily extend ourselves for the others' happiness. A romantic holiday is seductive when we do that again. Then we not only feel we got the holiday we wanted, we feel close to our partner because they wanted to give you the holiday you wanted.

Do the little things

One of the many complaints couples have is that they are time poor. They can't focus on the little tokens of appreciation and the gestures of love because they are simply too busy every week working, commuting, taking care of the children, managing finances, running the household and everything in between.

Now is the time to hold hands, snuggle, pick your love a flower, and tell them how wonderful, beautiful or sexy they are. Prove to them that when you have the time, you do really want to show these important feelings.

Do something new 

It's not only vital to reconnect while away, but also to create new memories together. A holiday isn't just about getting a break from your everyday life and the stresses of it, but truly investing in your relationship and showing one another that you love growing together, spending time together and moving forward in life together. So go create new memories that will make you smile.

The Health Benefits Of Being In Love

If you’ve been considering ditching your partner, or are just feeling a little harassed by love, check out some of these relationship perks which might just remind you that being in love can be good for your health.

Love keeps us young

We all know that being in love and making love are two very different scenarios and apparently so does Mother Nature. Being in love is often very trying and can age us; however, research suggests that making love keeps us young. A study conducted by researchers at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital in Scotland found that those women who have sex four or more times a week look 10 years younger than their actual age. Consultant neuropsychologist Dr David Weeks said that loving couples not only look after their bodies more, but that they also benefit from the physical and emotional effects of sex.

Love improves our mental health

Love has many physical benefits, but it would seem that men and women who are in a relationship get lots of mental health benefits too. In New Zealand a team at the University of Otago examined 1000 people. They found that people who had been in a relationship for longer than five years were less likely to be depressed and attempt suicide. Other studies have found similar findings, stating that married people report lower levels of depression and distress. Apparently married men are also half as likely to commit suicide as single men, and one third as likely as divorced men. Perhaps the phrase “you’re driving me crazy” should no longer be used in reference to your partner?

Is love good for women, bad for men?

When you think of a married man, do you think of the grumpy, beaten-down stereotype? If you do, then don’t worry, apparently there’s some truth behind this well-worn notion. The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing found that women report a higher quality of life when they are in a relationship, but their husbands or partners report having a significantly lower quality of life. However, although it is possible that relationships fulfill the needs of women more than men, compared to single people, those in a relationship are still happier overall. In a separate study 40 per cent of married couples said they were happy, compared to only 25 per cent of single people.

Love heals the heart

Perhaps it’s no coincidence that love is often depicted using a heart shape. A recent study by researchers at the University of Rochester in New York found that those in a happy relationship are three times more likely to survive heart surgery.  The researchers reported that a good marriage can be as beneficial to the heart as quitting smoking, staying at a healthy weight and reducing high blood pressure. Similar findings were found by those at the University of North Carolina and a study in Human Communication Research.  They both found that being in love and expressing your emotions had a positive impact on cholesterol.

Love gives us more birthdays

Sadly, being in love does not mean you get to have more than one birthday a year. However, it does mean that you get to see more of them. The mortality rates for single males aged between 30 and 59 are two and half times higher than their non-single counterparts! Don’t gloat too much though girls. Single women also face a 23 percent higher mortality rate than those who are married. Researchers suggest that this difference in longevity is due to the fact that most single people have poorer health benefits, a lower income and are socially isolated. Being supported and connected to others is an essential part of keeping healthy.

8 Reasons Men Fall Out Of Love

Why do men fall out of love? There are lots of reasons why he might have broken up with you. Here we talk you through a few reasons why he might have put his heart back on the dating market.

1. You didn’t like his mum

Not getting on with his mum or squabbling with his sister is one easy way to make someone fall out of love with you.  Family is important to most people and men feel uncomfortable when important people in their life don’t get on. Not getting on with the in-laws means it’s only a matter of time before he has to make an awkward decision: you or them.

 2.You didn’t meet his needs  

Although men may not ask you to run them a bubble bath or ask for a cuddle, they have just as many needs as you do. One reason men fall out of love with their girlfriends is when their needs are ignored or goes unfulfilled. If you think you didn’t give your boyfriend enough last time make sure you don’t make the same mistake again and try to be more aware of what your new boyfriend does and doesn’t need.

3. Sleepless nights

A study commissioned by Channel 4 found that 30 per cent of divorced parent’s felt that their marriage broke down because they hadn’t slept properly as a result of having young children who didn’t sleep through the night. As you know sleep deprivation can dramatically change people’s behavior and put unwanted pressure on already strained relationships and, as the stats show, this is potentially one reason why men break up with their partners.

4. Communication

Just because he broke up with you doesn’t mean the relationship ended because of something you did, it may have been something you both did, like not communicating properly. It sounds so simple, but not being open and clear with one another can lead to so many problems. If you didn’t talk enough and express yourselves clearly then perhaps he fell out of love with the relationship, not you.

5. Honeymoon period  

Pretty much every relationship has a honeymoon period where you are consumed by infatuation and can’t see any of the faults or annoying habits your other half has. Yet this honeymoon phase has to end eventually and when it does your partner will come to understand that, like everyone, you have both good bits and bad bits.  If those bad bits outweigh the good in his eyes it may cause him to fall out of love.

6. Too clingy

A lot of men claim they break up with their girlfriends because they were too clingy. In reality this explanation for a break up does not necessarily mean that the girl was overly clingy, but indicates that the couple wanted to dedicate different levels of commitment to their relationship. Next time you should be clear what you want from a relationship and make sure you are both ready for the same kind of relationship.

7. Attraction

It’s a hurtful thing to say, but attraction can fade and although it sounds like a shallow reason to fall out of love with someone, attraction and sex are both important parts of a relationship. Remember though, if this was the reason he broke up with you it doesn’t mean that you are not attractive and that no other men will fancy you, it might just mean he lost that spark he used to feel about you.

8. You are not loyal

Men value loyalty and will often pull away from those people who they feel are no longer backing them. If a man’s girlfriend lets them down or listens to everyone else  before they listen to theirs, then chances are he’ll be deeply hurt and pull away. Eventually if the situation continues this might be enough to make him fall out of love.