Date night doesn’t have to incorporate activities, grand gestures and expensive night outs. Sometimes keeping it simple can be better. They are also great opportunities to step outside the norm of daily life and reduce the stress you feel as a couple.

They are also vital to maintaining your relationship because after the kids leave home it will be just the two of you again. There are a number of ways date nights can help maintain, support, and even enhance, your relationship. So let’s look at some of those ways.

1 It Enhances Your Friendship.

Friendship is a vital component of any relationship. But an intimate one needs a solid base of friendship. Date nights help to maintain those open and honest lines of communication without the pressure of day to day life. So date night reinforces the idea that your partner “has your back”. Research shows us that this also helps to make resolving conflicts much easier as you view your partner as a friend not an adversary.

2 It Brings You Emotionally Closer As A Couple.

That initial romantic phase wears off after a few years. Date nights have been shown to rekindle that earlier desire and romance, bringing the couple closer. Add in some pre-date texts, messages, a hug or loving gesture, to help increase affection and emotional closeness. Being emotionally close brings your relationship more depth and that is vital to igniting intimacy.

3 Communication Will Improve Between You Both.

Date nights are a great break from day to day to life. As long as you park the conversations about the house, kids, family, friends, work and finances. Date nights can reduce your stress too. Use another night to talk about those things.

Date night should be a break from normal routine. They should be just about reconnecting as a couple not other life issues. It is a great opportunity to talk freely about your relationship without the hassle of daily life for a few hours.

4 You Grow As A Couple And Learn More About One Another.

We all change as we grow older. Our likes and dislikes change. But so does our relationship. It’s up to us to make sure we grow as a couple together. Having fun and just spending time together will help the relationship grow. It helps nurture the resilience of the relationship and that is important for you both in tougher times. As women we tend to be more social creatures. We need to feel that connection to our partner. So if they make the time and effort to prioritize time with us we tend to feel more connected, supported, and safe. In fact women were found to be seven times happier when they had couple time at least once a week with their partner.

5 It Can Shake Things Up In A Positive Way.

Routine and the mundane can be a killer to relationships. We start to take things, our partner and our self for granted. Push yourself out of the comfort zone a little. It doesn’t have to extravagant or big, just something different for you both. It may take a little planning on both your parts but you could discover things you never knew the other liked.

6 You Are Cutting Your Chances Of Divorce.

This might see obvious to some but perhaps not to others. We need to feel connected with our spouses if we want to avoid the divorce court. If you are not connecting in any meaningful way with your spouse then you are more likely to seek a divorce. Research is clear on this one. Women are four times more likely, and men two and half times more likely, to seek a divorce compared to those who make regular time to connect. Those date nights mightn’t seem so expensive after all.

My Book.

Did you know I talk about basic self-care in my workbook The Building Blocks Of Self-Care? The steps in this workbook will help you lay the foundations to rebuilding your life, feel more in control and help you build healthy routines. You can purchase it on Amazon or here.