Gaby
A team from the University of Zurich surprised the public with their latest findings. It turns out that the best way to cement the early stages of a relationship isn’t a shared walk, jog, or trip to the theater. Instead, mutual closeness and comfort early on were strongest after activities that are anything but healthy: lounging on the couch, smoking, drinking alcohol, and indulging in fatty foods.
But the team warned that this kind of lifestyle can harm a couple’s health.
What the Scientists Discovered
The researchers started from the idea that feeling comfortable in a relationship signals strength and stability. They wanted to find which shared activities boost that feeling.
The team analyzed data from three earlier diary studies that focused on unhealthy behaviors among couples.
In the first study, partners who smoked reported how many cigarettes they smoked together each day for a month.
In the second study, researchers tracked inactive couples: for a month, partners wore accelerometers to measure how much time they spent together being sedentary.
In the third study, participants photographed their daily diet for a month and recorded how often they consumed alcohol and foods high in fat, sugar, or salt.
Participants in all three studies rated their feelings of closeness and relationship satisfaction daily, as reported by the Daily Mail.
Data analysis showed that participating couples reported higher relationship satisfaction and closeness the day after engaging in unhealthy behaviors.
The team suggested that smoking or consuming unhealthy products is often used to relieve stress and ease discomfort, which helps explain why couples pick those behaviors.
They published the findings in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. The paper stated that partners who “engaged in unhealthy activities together felt closer to each other the next day than those who opted for a walk or a jog.”
At the same time, the researchers warned that these bonding methods could harm couples’ health over time.
