How To Feel the Excitement of Long Distance Love Even When You're Local

By SheSpeaksTeam Feb 07, 2014

We’ve heard reports that long distance relationships have a lot of positive aspects and can actually work. But what if you’re among the majority of local couples who see each other every day, are there ways to make your relationship come with the benefits that long distance lovers see?

Upwave’s Jenn Sturiale lets us in on some of the ways couples who live together can make their relationship feel as exciting as a long distance relationship. Sturiale points to a 2013 study that relays why long distance relationships can have a leg up on local couples. Crystal Jiang, Ph.D., coauthor of the 2013 study, explains that communication via phone calls, texting, and skyping is greatly increased when couples live far apart. She says, “Long-distance couples try harder than geographically close couples in communicating affection and intimacy, and their efforts do pay back. People in long-distance relationships often have stronger bonds from more constant, and deeper, communication than normal relationships.”

So how do couples who live closer together attain the same close bond that long distance couples have? Sturiale gives a few tips on how to get that long distance feeling even when you share a bedroom, like sending one love note, email or text a day to your partner. To keep it fresh and increase your bond be sure to add new details in the note every day. Sturiale suggests something like, “Thanks for bringing me my coffee in bed this morning. I loved that -- and I love you.”

Another tip is to shake up your daily conversation a little. Instead of going over the rundown of what your day was like, tell your partner stories from your childhood while you cook dinner together. Sturiale stresses that healthier communication is the key to keeping your love as exciting and positive as partners who are forced to spend time apart.

Do you think long term couples who live together can enjoy the same benefits those involved in long distance relationships have?

Share your tips on ways you and your partner stay close!