7 Ways A Playful Attitude And Sense Of Humor Creates A Happy Married Life
By Sylvia Smith
A shared sense of humor is one of the most important things you can have in your relationship. It promotes bonding, is good for your mental and physical health, and contributes to a happy married life.
One study ranked how males and females view humor in a relationship. The results revealed that men were more likely to emphasize the importance of making their partner laugh, while women valued reception and production of humorous events equally.
The bottom line? Sharing a laugh or a smile with your spouse is important to both husbands and wives. Here are 7 ways that being playful with your spouse and sharing a laugh together can benefit your relationship forever.
It Helps Reduce Stress
Studies show that laughter can be a natural stress reliever. This is great for developing a deeper connection to your spouse and ease relationship, work, or family stresses.
Whatever is going on in your life, you will feel comforted by knowing that you will always have a partner who is ready to have a laugh with you and look for ways to cheer you up when you’re down.
Humor Strengthens Your Connection
You may be full of romantic ideas on how to strengthen your emotional connection to your spouse, but have you tried laughing together?
In a study focused on couples and humor, results found that couples who laughed together reported feeling more supported by their spouse. The findings also indicated that when couples shared laughter they felt more satisfied with their relationship.
It’s Good for your Health
Part of a happy married life is having two partners who are in good health. This is great for those who love to laugh since, aside from boosting relationship morale, having a good sense of humor can also improve your physical wellbeing.
Laughter is Relaxing: When you think of laughter you may envision a deep belly-laugh that leaves you in tears. It’s true that laughing causes an increase in your respiratory and heart rates along with oxygen consumption. But, these increases are immediately followed by a period of calming relaxation that will decrease blood pressure.
Good for your immune system: Studies show that laughter increases infection-fighting antibodies and immune cells. This can improve your resistance to sickness and disease.
Improves Heart Health: When you laugh with your spouse you promote healthy blood flow in your body. This improves the function of your blood vessels, which can protect you from cardiovascular problems such as having a heart attack.
In a study of 20,934 participants, research indicated that the prevalence of heart disease among those who rarely laughed was 1.21% higher than those who reported laughing on a daily basis.
Diffuses Relationship Tension
Neither you or your partner is perfect. You are bound to irritate one another at some point during your marriage. The good news is that laughing can help smooth out these bumps in the road of marriage.
By striving to be more playful with your spouse you will adopt a more carefree attitude that makes you more willing to let those little annoying things go.
Being playful can also diffuse uncomfortable situations. If you and your partner are both frustrated with one another, sometimes a simple joke is all it takes to make you both laugh and successfully end the argument.
Another great benefit to laughing together is that when you and your spouse share the same sense of humor, you’ll know exactly what not to say to avoid offending one another.
You’ll Always Agree on Entertainment
Watching television, movies, listening to podcasts, or reading books together are all common ways that couples relax and decompress. Knowing that you’ll never have disagreements about humor or what show to watch is a simple but lovely aspect to any happy married life.
It Makes You More Attractive to Each Other
When you are playful with your spouse you make them feel special. Striving to make your partner laugh, as well as tickling and teasing them will make them feel like they have your undivided attention.
Research published in the Evolutionary Psychology journal found that couples who have the same sense of humor and practice laughing together on a daily basis are more likely to stay together for a longer period of time than those who don’t.
Humor is a positive quality. This means that when you laugh with your spouse you will associate good feelings with spending time with them. This makes you both seem more attractive to one another.
Laughter Makes You Happier
When you and your spouse joke around together or spend an evening laughing you feel more joyful around each other. Being playful and making your spouse laugh is an enjoyable experience for both partners. It will make you want to spend more time together.
Studies also indicate that laughing creates a rush of blood that increases adrenaline that leads to a spike in happiness. Take advantage of this fact by using humor in your romantic ideas and seize date night as an opportunity to be more playful together.
Final Thoughts
Humor can easily be taken out of context and do more harm than good in your marriage. You must use humor wisely in order for playfulness and laughter to benefit your relationship.
It’s important not to take yourself too seriously in life. Still, you would never want to make cruel jokes about your spouse that would cause them to feel hurt or offended.
When you laugh with your spouse, you should laugh together, not at one another. Share a punch-line and watch the way it transforms your relationship into a happy married life.
Is laughter really the best medicine? When it comes to maintaining a happy married life and improving your health, science says yes! One of the most romantic ideas you can implement on your next date night is to make it your goal to laugh more with your loved one.