LIFESTYLE

Happy wife, happy life? A harmonious relationship is the responsibility of both partners. Relationships play a key role in people’s happiness. There are scholars who study how people maintain good quality relationships and the challenges they face. Some challenges are beyond people’s control, including financial, familial and health stressors — however, there are things people can control to make their relationships stronger. For instance, people can avoid escalating conflict, criticizing a partner or acting too jealous. They can also do positive things in the relationship in the form of gratitude, laughter, sharing good news and experiencing new things together. Given that there are many needs to be juggled within and outside relationships, people have to decide what to focus on. In othe...

Friendship research is getting an update – and that’s key for dealing with the loneliness epidemic. The benefits of friendship go far beyond having someone to confide in or spend time with – it can also protect you from physical and mental health problems. For example, people with good friends recover more quickly from illnesses and surgeries. They report higher well-being and feel like they live up to their full potential. Additionally, people with good friends report being less lonely across many life stages, including adolescence, becoming a parent and old age. In fact, friendships are so powerful that the social pain of rejection activates the same neural pathways that physical pain does. Behavioral scientists like me have tended to focus our research about friendships on their benefit...