26 Relationship Life Hacks Every Couple Should Know

Having a relationship isn't easy. It takes work and will require you to learn how to talk things out efficiently. It's a partnership, and at times, even the most solid relationship will be a struggle to maintain.

Thankfully, there are quick, easy relationship life hacks that can help you weather the storms, steer your love life back on track, and also help you enjoy your partner just that much more.

• Hugging or holding hands with someone special has been proven to instantly reduce your stress levels.
• Studies show that a sincere hug that lasts longer than 20 seconds can release feel-good chemicals in the brain and elevate the mood of the giver and receiver. A sincere hug can really give your partner the lift they need.
• If you laugh with your partner for at least 10 minutes a day, your relationship has a 75% higher chance of lasting.
• Work hard at maintaining closeness. Closeness doesn't happen by itself. With the absence of closeness, people tend to drift apart and are susceptible to affairs. A good relationship is a lifelong process maintained through regular attention.
• 80% of women use silence to express pain. You know she's truly hurt when she is choosing to ignore you.
• A 2015 study from the University of Alberta found that couples who divvy up cleaning tasks reported higher relationship satisfaction and got busy more often than couples who left it to one partner.

• When you get home from work, the first things you should talk about is the best thing that happened to each of you that day. Regardless of what it is, just start with the best thing that happened. Start positive, no matter how frustrating your day was.
• Admit when you are wrong. You’ll find that it’s actually freeing for you and your partner will appreciate it and start taking after your example.
• Also, be graceful when you’re right. Gloating when you’re right is divisive. And gloating about being right is a surefire way to end up “wrong” even when you technically started out right.
• You will never "find" time. You have to make it.
• A 2014 University of North Carolina at Greensboro study found that American women who get married at age 18 have a 60% divorce rate, but women who wait until 23 to get committed have a divorce rate around 30%.
• If you agree to let something go and move on, actually let it go and move on.

• Never, ever mention breaking up in a fight. If you are going to break up with someone, that’s a separate discussion and doesn’t belong in the heat of an argument.
• Kissing, caressing, and affectionate talking after sex may be just as important to relationship satisfaction as intercourse itself, suggests a 2014 University of Toronto study.
• If your partner seems to be in a bad mood for no reason, get them something to eat.
• A study published in Computers in Human Behavior looked at data from 1,160 married people and found a negative correlation between heavy social-media use and relationship happiness. "When angry, some people may turn to texting to avoid saying something," Saltz says. "It's a way of creating distance." While it doesn't hurt to send a flirty message, it does pay off to be more direct with your partner when something is bothering you.
• Research suggests that treating each date with your partner as if it's your first date helps build a long lasting relationship.

• In a 2010 study, published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, showed that couples who went to sleep and woke up at the same time reported higher satisfaction in their marriages.
• If you get into a fight with your partner, try not to think of it as you vs. them, but rather, approach it as you two vs. the issue.
• Embrace both the good and the bad in your relationship, no one is perfect.
• Take a break in the middle of fighting. Think of a safe-word that if one of you says it in the middle of an argument, you have to pause the argument for 15 minutes. It will give you time to calm down, rethink, and resolve your argument.