Researchers at Florida State University have found that the secret to a happy marriage isn’t buying expensive gifts or going on romantic vacation.
According to the researchers, the secret to having a happy marriage is a good night’s sleep.
The researchers claim having seven to eight hours of sleep a night means partners are less likely to focus on the negative aspects of their relationship and more inclined to think about the bigger picture.
According to the research which was published in the Journal of Family Psychology, sleep also helps restore function in the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that manages self-control, which is thought to improve our perception of relationships.
To arrive at this conclusion, the researchers asked 68 newlywed couples to record their sleep patterns for a week.
The couples were also asked to keep a diary of how they felt about their marriage and how rows affected their view of the relationship.
The researchers also assessed the levels of satisfaction of the couples’ sex lives, levels of affection, time spent together, partners’ mood and how the couples resolved rows. This was done using what they called the Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale.
The researchers also revealed that husbands benefitted more from a proper night’s sleep.
“Sleep is an important factor that affects marital satisfaction,” the researchers said.
“Up to a third of married or cohabiting adults report that sleep problems burden their relationship.”
So sleep is as important as honesty and respect in every relationship.
Phil