these unhealthy habits help your relationship

Lounging on the couch together, regularly having a drink or smoking a cigarette. These unhealthy habits sound like a bad idea, but a study from the University of Zurich found that sometimes giving in to bad habits can make couples feel closer to each other.

Bad habit

Have you ever thought that lighting up a cigarette can also be good for you? OK, we need the die-hard smokers still disappoint because cigarettes are still extremely harmful to your health. However, there are apparently also benefits to unhealthy habits. The University of Zurich has researched this and the study has shown that some unhealthy habits can strengthen the bond of two people. Hear us out.

Study

Researchers divided couples into three groups and had them lounge around, eat junk food, smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol. The couples, meanwhile, had to keep track of how they felt by writing it down in a diary. What seems? The couples who lounged around, drank alcohol and smoked reported feeling more satisfaction in their relationship than before. The couples who ate junk food together felt no change in relationship satisfaction.

The researchers noted that while smoking and doing absolutely nothing can certainly have harmful (or deadly) effects on your health, giving in together can help couples feel closer. “It is possible that a willingness to accept long-term health or well-being risks associated with shared problematic behaviors may make ‘joying together’ a unique experience that brings partners closer together,” the researchers wrote.

Footnote

Besides the fact that unhealthy habits are of course bad for your health, the benefits of surrendering to them together are only for the short term and therefore according to psychotherapist Eugenia Pepper not worth it. “Indulging in unhealthy habits can contribute to a lack of motivation and low energy levels, which can affect other aspects of the couples’ lives, such as their social lives, work performance and overall happiness,” she explains. Pepper also points out that being together is the key is to a closer feeling, instead of the unhealthy activity.

“Engaging in healthy activities together can foster a sense of connection and intimacy in a relationship, improve communication skills, reduce stress, and promote physical health and well-being,” says Pepper. Then let’s leave the alcohol and cigarettes anyway…

Source: Body and Soul | Image: Adobe Stock