The Benefits of Intimacy in Your Marriage: How Physical and Emotional Closeness Can Improve Your Happiness, and Relationship Quality
Intimacy is a vital component of a healthy and satisfying marriage and without it we feel separated from our partner.
It’s the overall sense of closeness, connection, and mutual understanding that you share with your spouse.
And it can be expressed in different ways, such as physical intimacy, emotional intimacy, intellectual intimacy, and spiritual intimacy.
Below I’ll discuss how can having more intimacy benefit your marriage in terms of happiness, well-being, and relationship quality.
You can check out my video below for even more personal details into why intimacy is so important and how you can keep that flame burning bright.
What is physical intimacy?
Physical intimacy is the most obvious form of intimacy in marriage. It involves touching, kissing, hugging, cuddling, and sexual intercourse.
It’s no marriage secret that physical intimacy can enhance your marital happiness by increasing your pleasure, satisfaction, and bonding hormones.
According to a 2017 study, more frequent sex was associated with higher levels of happiness and lower levels of stress than other sexual activities or no sexual activity.
We have to build up our physical intimacy everyday and throughout the day. A mistake men often make is thinking the physical intimacy starts and ends in the bedroom.
But the truth is that it has to start the moment we get out of bed in the morning. It has to become a part of our everyday.
What is emotional intimacy?
Emotional intimacy is the ability to share your feelings, thoughts, and needs with your spouse in a safe and supportive manner.
Emotional intimacy can improve your marital happiness by fostering trust, empathy, and validation.
A 2005 study found that emotional intimacy was a key predictor of marital satisfaction and well-being over time.
How often have you felt distant from your partner? That’s what a lack of emotional intimacy is.
And it takes us both being willing to cross that awkwardness of reaching out emotionally for our partner.
It takes making sure they know we are open to them and their thoughts and sharing ours.
What is intellectual intimacy?
Intellectual intimacy is the exchange of ideas, opinions, and interests with your spouse in a respectful and stimulating way.
Intellectual intimacy can enhance your marital happiness by expanding your knowledge, curiosity, and creativity.
A study published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology showed, engaging in novel and challenging activities with your spouse can increase your marital satisfaction and passion.
Think of when you’ve gone on a date somewhere new with your spouse. It felt exciting, it felt good, right?
That’s because when we experience new and novel things with someone, it helps to bond us together, and it doesn’t have to be some big adventure, it can be as simple as a new restaurant.
What is spiritual intimacy?
Spiritual intimacy is the alignment of your values, beliefs, and goals with your spouse in a meaningful and transcendent way. Spiritual intimacy can boost your marital happiness by providing you with a sense of purpose, direction, and gratitude.
According to a study by Bowling Green State University, spiritual intimacy was positively related to marital satisfaction and stability.
How we come to our spiritual walk is going to be different for each of us but what is most important for our marriage is that we try to make that walk together, while supporting each other’s own individual path.
It’s being open to the differences in our opinions or even beliefs.
You can download a free HD PDF version of the infographic here.
How do you build up the intimacy in your marriage?
To really build up the intimacy on every level in our marriage it takes making being intimate a daily habit that we both engage in.
It can make you happier, healthier, and more satisfied with your relationship.
However, intimacy is not something that happens automatically or stays constant over time.
Life throws stresses and responsibilities in our way that act as barriers to intimacy, but you can break through them and come out closer than before.
But it requires intentional effort, communication, and commitment from both partners.
If you want to increase the intimacy in your marriage, just remember the 6 Be’s:
- Be attentive to your spouse’s needs and preferences. Pay attention to their verbal and non-verbal cues, ask open-ended questions, listen actively, and show interest in what they say.
- Be expressive of your own needs and preferences. Share your feelings, thoughts, and desires with your spouse in a honest and respectful way. Avoid criticism, blame, or defensiveness.
- Be affectionate with your spouse. Showing physical affection regularly, such as holding hands, kissing, hugging, or cuddling will boost your sexual compatibility. So initiate or respond to sexual advances enthusiastically and sensitively.
- Be adventurous with your spouse. Try new things together, such as hobbies, sports, travel, or entertainment. Challenge yourselves to learn something new or overcome a fear.
- Be appreciative of your spouse. Express gratitude for their presence, actions, or qualities. Compliment them on their appearance, skills, or achievements.
- Be aligned with your spouse. Discuss your values, beliefs, and goals with your spouse. Support them in their pursuits and aspirations. Pray or meditate together if you share a faith.
Increase your intimacy and boost your marriage happiness
Intimacy is a key ingredient for a happy and healthy marriage.
By being attentive, expressive, affectionate, adventurous, appreciative, and aligned with your spouse, you can cultivate intimacy in different dimensions and enjoy its benefits for your happiness and relationship quality.
Remember that intimacy is not a destination but a journey that you embark on together with your spouse every day.
Sign up for our free newsletter and get the latest articles, research, and great deals to keep your relationship growing.
You can find our latest articles below:
-
How the Presidential Election is Affecting Relationships
The election is just ramping up and with events like the attempted assassination, this election is affecting relationships like never before.
-
What to Do When Your Partner is Gaslighting in the Relationship
Gaslighting can make your relationship fall apart and bring your mental health with it. Here’s how to stop it before it starts.
-
How Men Gaslight Women in a Relationship
Gaslighting is something that can turn a good relationship into a living nightmare. Here’s how to recognize when it happens and what to do.
-
How Women Gaslight Men in a Relationship
Men, you need to be able to recognize when you are being gaslit by your woman. Here’s how and what to do about it to keep you safe and legal.
-
What is Gaslighting in a Relationship?
Gaslighting can turn a good relationship into a living hell, here’s what it is, and how to deal with it before the problems start.
-
Why Women Need to Start Approaching Men
Ladies you need to start approaching men and it is absolutely the #1 fastest way to catch that high quality man of your dreams.