How Laughter Can Strengthen Your Bond

This week, we are moving on to #2 in our list of ways laughter can improve your relationship. Who's ready?! Let's recap what we've learned so far:

How can laughter strengthen your relationship?

#1 Laughter Increases Serotonin Levels

Laughter can help your body release more serotonin, improve your mood, and decrease your levels of stress, making it easier to connect with your partner.

#3 Laughter Can Strengthen Your Bond

Last week, we talked about how laughter can increase serotonin levels in our bodies, making us feel better and placing us in better moods. This week, we will look a little deeper into how laughter can play an integral part in strengthening your relationship.

Here are four ways how laughing with your partner and help you create a stronger bond and how you can integrate it into your relationship.

LAUGHTER CAN IMPROVE INTIMACY

Humor is one of the first things that can garner attraction in a relationship, and it is those shared laughs that can make it last. Whether it's an inside joke that no one knows except you two or funny little quarks your partner does when no one is watching, that laughter shared can help build intimacy and a connection that you cannot get with anyone else.

Create inside jokes, be silly when no one is looking, and find daily moments for goofy laughter. Those intimate moments can not only improve your mood, but they can also keep your relationship strong.

LAUGHTER CAN HELP YOU WITH CONFLICT RESOLUTION

Using laughter and playful communication to buffer tension and disagreements can help decrease negative and hurtful interactions. Humor can also help settle you each down when frustration kicks in. A bit of laughter can help calm you down, which can lead to more production conversations.

Just make sure you are both on the same page. If one person uses an excess amount of humor during arguments, it may come across as disrespectful or sarcastic. So, when it comes to using humor in your conflict resolution strategies, it's best to work as a team. Here are a few things to try:

- Come up with a funny face or phrase to recite back to each other if you notice tensions are getting too high.

- Take a moment to watch a funny clip together on Facebook or YouTube before conversing.

- Play a dance song and take a few seconds to jam. Even if you aren't in the mood, doing your silliest dance moves for each other can help break the ice.

LAUGHTER CAN HELP YOU BOTH BE MORE RESILIENT

Sharing laughter can help you both support each other through tough times. Similar to using humor with conflict resolution, laughing together can help decrease tension and lower stress levels. When your partner is feeling a little blue, find some ways to make them smile.

LAUGHTER ADDS JOY TO EVERYDAY LIFE

To make your partner laugh, there needs to be some interaction between the both of you. So, the more focus you put into humor, the more attention you are giving each other. Adding laughter in your everyday life improves your relationship because it means you consistently give each other attention and affirmation, essential ingredients to building your bond.

Monday Motivation

SNEAKY LITTLE LAUGH BANDIT

What to do: Your Monday Motivation this week is simple: make your partner laugh twice every day this week. It may sound easy, but it's a lot harder to do if your partner knows it's coming, so you will have to be sneaky in your tactics. It doesn't necessarily matter how you make them laugh, and it doesn't even need to ROFL type of humor; even a few giggles will suffice.

Be creative in your approach and try not to use the same tactics every day. You can show your partner a funny video one day, wear your sweatpants up super high the next, or even surprise them with a tickle but try different things each day.

Why are we doing this? Much like other aspects of getting to know your partner, it's important to understand your partner's humor. If you want to be dedicated to adding more laughter to your relationship, you'll have to know how to make them laugh. This activity acts as a little experiment to see what types of things can make your partner chuckle so that you can make them laugh even more in the future!

Date Night Ideas

Are you ready for your week of waffle-inspired date nights?

Yes, yes, you heard us right. This week, we bring you three waffle-inspired date nights that are not "breakfast in bed".

On Monday, we talked about how laughter can strengthen your relationship by building your bond through resilience, conflict resolution, joy, and intimacy.

With the date ideas below, we are emphasizing those topics as well. So, waffle you waiting for? Let's get on to some date night ideas! 🥞🙌

ARE YOU A MEMBER? Click below to view this week's date night ideas.