This week, the topic is what is the most important aspect of a romantic relationship. Like anything, there are all kinds of important things to consider in a relationship—trust, compatibility, respect. But I like humor. Not that relationships are all that funny all the time, but being able to laugh at yourself and with your partner will sure make the good times better and the hard times easier.
It should come as no surprise that all relationships have ups and downs. The ups are easy to deal with. The hard times though, they can be killers. Killers of the relationship if you and your partner don’t know how to handle things. Laughter won’t pay your bills or make the baby stop its crying or get your hubby a promotion but it does have some real positive effects on the body and mind. According to the Mayo Clinic short term effects of laughter include:
- Stimulate many organs. Laughter enhances your intake of oxygen-rich air, stimulates your heart, lungs and muscles, and increases the endorphins that are released by your brain.
- Activate and relieve your stress response. A rollicking laugh fires up and then cools down your stress response, and it can increase and then decrease your heart rate and blood pressure. The result? A good, relaxed feeling.
- Soothe tension. Laughter can also stimulate circulation and aid muscle relaxation, both of which can help reduce some of the physical symptoms of stress.
Sometimes, that’s all you need to get past a sudden tense time and
give yourself time to breathe so you don’t say or do that thing in any time you wouldn’t want to say or do.
So yes, I want trust and all those other good things in a romantic relationship. And yes, there are definitely times to be serious–problems still exist that need to be solved. But know when to laugh. It’s good for you, for your loved one, and for your relationship.
At least, that’s what I think. What say you?
Read the next blog in the blog hop by going here.
Burning Bridges by Anne Krist–Gold Medal winner, Best Romance 2020, Coffee Pot Book Club
One Woman Only
Only a Good Man Will Do
Naval Maneuvers
Over the years of reading, I’ve fallen in love with angsty characters (ooo-la-la, Mr. Darcy!), sweet characters (Donald in Finding Camlann), quirky characters (Don in The Rosie Project), and any number of alpha males (any of the SEALS in Suzanne Brockmann’s books). But the character that will steal my heart for real, is the one who shows humor. That goes for male or female. If a character makes me laugh, that’s most often a 5-star read for me.
spark of electricity, if they also share a great back and forth in their dialogue, I consider that a winner. Sarah Ney has written a series called How to Date a Douchebag, and all of them contain great banter, Her books make me laugh—and a few have made me tear up. Spectacular interaction. In fact, while writing this post I started reading one of the books in the series again. So, if you’ll excuse me, I plan to add a little humor to my afternoon.