What if happiness as a couple depended less on the time spent together than on the way we share it? According to a famous American psychologist, the key to a fulfilling relationship lies in a few well-placed moments during the week. A simple, but extremely effective routine to maintain love on a daily basis.
The 6 hours that keep the flame alive
What if the secret of a happy couple was counted not in days, but in well-chosen minutes? This is what Dr. John Gottman, professor at the University of Washington, suggests after decades of observing couples. According to him, devoting six hours a week to the relationship is enough to strengthen the romantic bond in the long term.
These six hours are divided into key daily moments:
- In the morning (10 minutes per week): ask yourself how the other person is doing or what they expect from their day. “Showing interest in others, even briefly, is a valuable sign of attention.“, explains the psychologist;
- Reunions (1 hour 40 minutes per week): twenty minutes a day to meet, exchange, kiss, create a bubble of intimacy;
- The appreciation dialogue (35 minutes): telling each other what we like about others, without waiting for a special occasion;
- Tender gestures (35 minutes): a caress, a massage, an improvised dance… these attentions nourish the bond;
- A romantic evening (2 hours): a dinner, a film or a walk, the idea being to get together far from constraints;
- Weekly update (1 hour): discuss disagreements, projects and emotions to defuse tensions.
Quality before quantity
These six hours are not a fixed objective, but a framework to better reconnect. As clinical psychologist Johanna Rozenblum reminds us, “Each couple must find their own rhythm. What matters is that these moments are sincere, unforced and pleasant. Time spent together should not become a rigid rule“.
The real secret lies in intention: granting your partner an attentive and authentic presence, even for short periods of time. Better ten minutes of real connection than two hours of distracted coexistence.
Six hours of love, without a stopwatch
These six hours are neither a constraint nor a competition. They serve as a benchmark for cultivating complicity without pressure. The main thing is to adapt this ritual to your rhythm of life, transforming shared time into moments of mutual pleasure. Love, after all, cannot be counted – it must be experienced.