25 Tips For A Healthier Relationship

You've tamed the laundry, hit a home run at work and dished up a family dinner. Forget anything? Oh, right -- your partner!

It's easy to simply co-exist with the person next to you in bed. But a rise in "gray" divorce (couples over 50 calling it quits) suggests that neglecting your relationship is a bad idea.

Isn't it time to add a little love to your to-do list? Try these 25 ideas.

For more on relationships, click here.

Comments

[LauraGiveMe10]

04:35 PM on 02/07/2012

The first paragraph of your article tells it all! I keep a list of the things that matter to me and try to spend 10 minutes on each of them every day. I can't tell you how often the "spouse" box is not checked at the end of the day! The list makes me aware that a whole day can slip by and we've said little more than "Have a good day," "Welcome home," and "Love you" -- at least we remembered that!

[orthobobsuruncle]

03:53 PM on 02/06/2012

Sorry, the second one is just bad advice IMHO. If you absolutely must talk about your personal relationship stuff, use a professional. If you reveal problems to friends your mate will feel deeply betrayed, even if they don't admit it, and your friends will look at you sympathetically for ever after, which is really pretty unpleasant.

[Sepulchre]

03:37 PM on 02/06/2012

Better yet, don't get married, and keep your finances separate.

[GCurry]

03:08 PM on 02/06/2012

The biggest thing getting in the way of "relationship" after 50 is extended family collapsing in on grandparents. It's hard enough making ends meet, keeping the household running, and basically existing, much less co-existing.

But when children and/or grandchildren decide they can't make it on their own and start moving back "home" or abandoning grandchildren to "Nana" and "Papa", the load, financial burden and stress shoots up. This, at a time when money, time and energy are on the wane.

The only hope for relationship at that point is a mutual realization that life has become more about survival than fun, and "co-existing" (emphasis on exist) isn't so very bad.

[Brockernation]

03:33 PM on 02/06/2012

This would be the exact opposite in many other societies. Stress levels are lower when there are grandparents and other relatives around to watch the kids, help cook and clean, and provide moral support.

[GCurry]

04:14 PM on 02/06/2012

Stress levels on parents are reduced when grandparents pick up the load, I agree.

But since this article spoke about over-50s, I was talking about the stress on over-50 relationships, stress on the grandparents.

Sometimes grandparents "get to" raise a grandchild instead of (not in addition to) its parent. Check. Sometimes a sub-family just can't make it and moves back in to a single family house. Check. Sometimes, then, financial burden goes up, ditto chore burden, drama burden. Check. Privacy goes down. Check.

[ebull]

07:54 AM on 02/06/2012

What a joke....'Work on yourself' shows a pill bottle. Horrible. Is E. Lilly funding this article? America is overmedicated and quick to turn to Big Pharm. a joke. Look up side effects of Prozac.

[BG2323]

03:20 PM on 02/06/2012

Thank you! I was about to post that too. Maybe if you're really about to end it you should be medicated. But to infer that taking pills constitutes working on one's self.....

For the slides on getting fit maybe they should have had a liposuction slide.

[hadafaone]

09:28 PM on 02/05/2012

DUH !! What a dumb article..

[JC2009USA]

06:26 PM on 02/05/2012

No matter how much advice you get...it still comes down to communication, mutual respect, and unwaivering trust. Love you can fall in and out of and get it back again..but .trust - is the key...once you break a rung off the trust ladder...it's never really the same...and when you loose respect for the other person that's really hard to reverse...so hone in on the open communication, maintain mutual respect and never break the trust factor. Live long and love like your life depends on it...and it's all about compromise and tolerance for each others differences.

[Jonathan Gallo]

08:29 PM on 02/07/2012

Couldn't agree more. I always reassure my girlfriend that I will always be open and honest.
As long as their is no deception everything will be alright.
What happens, happens.

[Kev Bat]

01:59 PM on 02/05/2012

Try to find humor in life and don't go to bed angry .

[artist5153]

10:29 AM on 02/05/2012

Most of these are standard--and several cross over each other (exercising, staying in shape, losing weight) but most make some sense--except for "Gossip." I think it is a very bad idea to talk about relationship issues with friends (okay, "he leaves his wet towel on the bed" is okay.) Bitching to others about the details of your personal lives is not good. In my experience (and yes, I used to do this years ago when I was young and stupid) this leads to a lack of trust and mutual support. What man or woman wants to feel that their faults and foibles are being aired out over coffee or beers with friends? Tell your girls he's amazing--and leave it at that. Tell your buddies you're so lucky to have her--and stop there. Or say nothing at all. Most people really don't want to hear about it anyway--they'll just start their own rant.

[Admiral Farragut]

08:25 AM on 02/05/2012

I hope DEMs will avail themselves of these suggestions. After reading that REPs have more orgasms, it can't hurt the DEMs to try something new. Lord knows they get stuck in gear when it comes to politics. They just seem so frustrated.

[LHoney]

04:47 PM on 02/06/2012

REPs are just bigger liars...

[Admiral Farragut]

07:45 AM on 02/07/2012

We're bigger, alright. And, you love it!

[Tarheelkeith]

08:17 AM on 02/05/2012

One tip...Be best friends, keep in shape, be willing to anything for your partner, and you will always have great sex in the bedroom.

[IamYourDrillThrall]

07:57 AM on 02/05/2012

Pretty standard stuff...could have come from Women's Day magazine. Must be a slow news day.

[IamYourDrillThrall]

07:54 AM on 02/05/2012

Eat more seafood...the picture used here (of oysters) is the same one used in the article about contaminated shellfish.

[french queen13]

06:58 PM on 02/04/2012

Eat dishes with chllies? What about those of us who can't stand hot food? Not everyone grew up eating such a diet. Burnt mouth = pain, for me, and since I'm not a masochist, it's not pleasurable in the least.

[french queen13]

06:56 PM on 02/04/2012

LOL about wearing red - I bought a lovely red straw hat once, and the only reaction I got from my beloved was "It's very red." He decided he liked it eventually but it took a couple of years for him to say so! :D