At the beginning of a couple, passionate, fusional love, the one that makes our little heart beat every second. “This phase is exciting and exhilarating. You talk often and you want to be with this person all the time. You look forward to seeing his name pop up on your phone and find little ways to bring him up in conversations with your friends.”, explains Beth Gulotta, mental health counselor, for Very Well Good. However, in the vast majority of cases, this phase, which specialists call “honeymoon”, only lasts a while. Couples, especially those with children, know this only too well: over time, a certain routine can become established. If it can be beneficial because it is reassuring, thus proving that the relationship is now solid, it can also harm the development of the couple. According to a study published in the journal Annals of Tourism Research Empirical Insights (1), there is however a way to keep the flame alive: treat yourself to a fulfilling vacation..
Stimulating activities during the holidays could rekindle the flame
To reach this conclusion the authors of this study, John Coffey, Moji Shahvali, Deborah Kerstetter and Arthur Aron, carried out two experiments. One involving 234 people and the other on 204 couples. The first study compared going on vacation alone or with a partner, and in both studies the extent to which people engaged in personal development activities during the holidays. The researchers came to the conclusion that a vacation dedicated to leisure activities once or twice a year with your partner allows for greater personal development and therefore, greater romantic passion after the holidays.
“We found that couples who do more new, interesting, challenging, and exciting things together while on vacation (i.e., personally enriching experiences) report of greater romantic passion and greater physical intimacy after the vacation ends », explain the researchers, who specify that the activities practiced during trips do not necessarily require a large budget or great inventiveness. Above all, they must be “interesting, adventurous, romantic and funny” conclude the researchers.