Have you ever noticed how happy couples seem to be charged with the same energy?
They smile the same way, finish each other's sentences and... fall asleep holding hands.
It turns out that it’s all about the ritual that psychologists are silent about!
TikTok recently went viral with a video from one user: a family from Texas has a "pillow fight" every night before bed.
The video has collected 2 million views, and the commentators are shocked: “We tried it - now the kids are demanding a sequel instead of cartoons!”
But the main discovery came from scientists who asked 300 couples to perform a simple task every day: 10 minutes of conversation, without touching on everyday topics. After a month, 79% of participants admitted that they felt closer to their partner than in recent years.
Doctors explain this by saying that sharing emotions, even through laughter or arguments, triggers the production of oxytocin. It's like an anti-stress cocktail for relationships.
Couples continue to reveal their secrets: Jane from Florida admitted that she and her husband draw caricatures of each other every night. "Sometimes they turn out ugly, but we roll around laughing and forget about the fights," she said.
But gadgets, according to research, steal 40% of couples’ “emotional resources.”
Likes on social networks are no substitute for eye contact, their authors warn.
The strangest rituals that work:
- New Zealand couple @MoonlightBakers bake cookies at 11pm. "The scent of vanilla is more important than an apology," they write.
- A couple from Spain peel potatoes before going to bed. "It's meditation. And tomorrow there will be a delicious breakfast," the husband laughs in his TikTok.
- A Canadian mother of three teaches her husband to knit. "He's already made a 3-meter scarf. At least we don't fight!"
But the main life hack came from an 80-year-old couple from Japan. They have been singing lullabies to each other every night for 50 years. "At first we were embarrassed, then we got used to it. Now it's our love melody," they said.
The therapist advises: “It doesn’t matter whether you dance in your pajamas or write poetry. What’s important is that the ritual becomes your personal language, spoken only by your family.”
Here's a dangerous fact: couples who fall asleep silently are three times more likely to mention the word "divorce" in search engines. But those who found "their" 10 minutes before bed admit: "It seems like we're falling in love again..."
Author: Elena Shimanovskaya