Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that can cause illnesses such as the common cold, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). In 2019, a new virus called the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) caused a disease outbreak in China. The disease is called coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
There isn't much known about this new virus yet. Public health groups, such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), are monitoring the situation and posting updates on their websites. These groups have also issued recommendations for preventing and treating the illness.
Symptoms
Signs and symptoms of infection with the new coronavirus may appear two to 14 days after exposure and can include:
Fever
Cough
Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
The severity of the new coronavirus symptoms can range from very mild to severe, even death. Although understanding of this disease continues to grow, most people with severe illness have been of an older age or had other significant existing medical conditions. This is similar to what is seen in people who have severe infections with other respiratory illnesses, such as influenza.
When to see a doctor
Contact your doctor right away if you have symptoms of infection with the new coronavirus and you've possibly been exposed to the virus. Tell your doctor if you've recently traveled internationally. Call your doctor ahead to tell him or her about your symptoms and recent travels and possible exposure before you go to your appointment.
Request an Appointment at Mayo Clinic
Causes
It's unclear exactly how contagious the new coronavirus is or how it spreads. It appears to be spreading from person to person among those in close contact. It may be spread by respiratory droplets released when someone with the virus coughs or sneezes.
It's not known if a person can catch the virus by touching a surface that an infected person has touched, and then putting his or her hand to the mouth.
Risk factors
Risk factors for infection with the new coronavirus appear to include:
Recent travel from or residence in China
Close contact with someone who has the new coronavirus — such as when a family member or health care worker takes care of an infected person
People who are older or who have other existing medical conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease, may be at higher risk of becoming seriously ill with the new coronavirus. But there is still much unknown about the virus, and the CDC and WHO continue to investigate.
Prevention
Although there is no vaccine available to prevent infection with the new coronavirus, you can take steps to reduce your risk of infection. WHO and CDC recommend following the standard precautions for avoiding respiratory viruses:
Wash your hands often with soap and water, or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
Cover your mouth and nose with your elbow or tissue when you cough or sneeze.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth if your hands aren't clean.
Avoid close contact with anyone who is sick.
Avoid sharing dishes, glasses, bedding and other household items if you're sick.
Clean and disinfect surfaces you often touch.
Stay home from work, school and public areas if you're sick.
WHO also recommends that you:
Contact your doctor if you have a fever, cough and difficulty breathing, and tell him or her about any recent travels.
Avoid eating raw or undercooked meat or animal organs.
Avoid contact with live animals and surfaces they may have touched if you're visiting live markets in areas that have recently had new coronavirus cases.
Travel
If you're planning to travel internationally, first check travel advisories. You may also want to talk with your doctor if you have health conditions that make you more susceptible to respiratory infections and complications.
You won’t be able to weightlift anymore.” That’s what my orthopedic surgeon told me when we sat down to discuss getting a total shoulder replacement, something that seemed necessary to relieve my shoulder pain and arthritis. Though I have had a long and successful career as a homebuilder, powerlifting has always been my passion.
I have been powerlifting for about 15 years, competing on the world stage with more than 30 world records to my name.
In 2014, at the peak of my competitive powerlifting career, Kabuki Strength, the gym I co-own in Portland, OR, opened its doors for amateur-to-elite-level lifters. This began the venture that has had the largest impact on my performance, health, and overall life.
However, around this time, I was also suffering from intense shoulder pain and needed it to subside. But by that point, what had started as a hobby had become my passion.
Plus, I was only in my 60s. There was no way that I wanted to step away from it all, retire, and put an end to my powerlifting career.
So, I took a deep breath and told my doctor, “No.” I didn’t want a traditional total shoulder replacement. I refused to accept that I could not continue to lead an active lifestyle. Instead, I decided to do what I had been doing for decades:
I continued to work through the pain.
It wasn’t easy. All that training, especially the squats and deadlifts, were taking a toll.
Over time, the cartilage in both my left and right shoulder joints was wearing out. It was getting to the point that whenever I moved in certain ways, bone hit bone. My range of motion was becoming increasingly limited, and I was often in pain.
Outside of the gym, even simple, everyday tasks were becoming more difficult. You don’t realize how much you use your shoulders until you’re in pain just from trying to put on a shirt.
The same goes for getting a dish from the top shelf of a kitchen cupboard or reaching to open the umbrella on a patio table; I found that ordinary tasks were starting to become challenges, and they usually left me grimacing in pain.
All of this wasn’t just annoying, it was also embarrassing. Here I was, a world-class powerlifter, and yet, whenever we were out in public, my wife had to help me put on my coat. With my limited range of motion, I couldn’t do anything like that by myself anymore.
Believe it or not, this went on for a few years. I continued to train as well as I could, but the deterioration of my shoulder cartilage only got worse. Finally, I decided that I had to take some kind of action, and I went back to my orthopedic surgeon to review my options.
Many people include milk in their diet, but few meet the daily recommended quantities. Experts now urge us to rethink these recommendations and explain why milk may not be as healthful as we think.
Dairy milk’s image has taken a bit of a beating, with the likes of oat, almond, and soy milk being hailed as environmentally friendly alternatives.
But for many people of all ages, cow’s milk remains a firm favorite —sloshed over cereal, as a frothy companion to coffee, or enjoyed as a bedtime drink.
The United States 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines recommend that individuals aged 9 years and over consume 3 cup-equivalents of fat-free and low-fat (1%) dairy products. According to the guideline, put together by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, this includes milk, yogurt, cheese, and fortified soy milk.
Yet the average amount of dairy that U.S. adults consume is around 1.6 cups each day, far short of the recommended levels.
Does that mean we should all look to increase our dairy consumption?
Experts writing in the New England Journal of Medicine do not think so. Instead, they call into question the quality of the evidence underpinning these recommendations and suggest alternative sources to provide us with the nutrients necessary for our health.
Strength of evidence is ‘limited’
The debate about milk is, in fact, not a new one.
Back in 2014, Connie M Weaver, emeritus professor and formerly the Head of the Department of Nutrition Science at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN, wrote an article in The American Journal of Clinical Nutritionhighlighting the lack of good quality evidence in support of dairy guidelines.
In her article, which was, in part, funded by Danone Institute International, Weaver alludes to the historical reasons behind milk’s importance to our diet.
“Dairy foods play a central role in most dietary guidance recommendations. They provide a package of essential nutrients and bioactive constituents for health that are difficult to obtain in diets with no or limited use of dairy products,” Weaver writes.
“Since the agricultural revolution, when energy sources shifted from plant foods relatively high in calcium in the diets of hunter-gatherers to cereal crops with low calcium content, the major source of dietary calcium has been milk,” she continues.
Milk has featured in every iteration of the U.S. Dietary Guidelines since its first publication in 1917. Every 5 years, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans Advisory Committee updates the guide, reviewing the available evidence.
Weaver references research that highlights how following a dairy-free diet in the context of a U.S.-style Western diet left adolescents aged 9 –18 years struggling to achieve the recommended intake of calcium.
For the purpose of meeting daily nutrient intake, milk and cheese contribute “46.3% of calcium, 11.6% of potassium, and 7.9% of magnesium in the American diet.”
Yet, when it comes to health overall, Weaver writes, “the strength of the evidence for dairy consumption and health is limited by the lack of appropriately powered randomized controlled trials.”
Human health and the environment
Fast forward to 2020, and a new review article in the New England Journal of Medicine picks up the argument.
Dr. Walter C. Willett and Dr. David S. Ludwig, who both hold positions at Harvard T.H. Chain School of Public Health and Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA, discuss the merits of milk. They also pose questions about the possible risk that consuming it may carry.
Both Dr. Willett, a professor of epidemiology and nutrition, and Dr. Ludwig, an endocrinologist, declare no relevant conflicts of interest or industry sponsorship for their article.
Medical News Today asked Dr. Willett why he is interested in studying the relationship between milk consumption and health.
“This is an important topic because milk is one of few foods that are specifically part of dietary guidelines in the U.S. and many other countries, and the recommended amount in the U.S. (3 glasses per day or equivalent amounts of cheese or other dairy products) would make up a large part of an overall diet,” he explained.
“However, studies over the last several decades have not clearly supported the need for such high intakes for prevention of fractures, which has been the main justification, and some concerns about harm have been raised,” he continued. “We thus thought an overview of evidence on risks and benefits would be useful.”
But health is not Dr. Willett’s only concern.
“Also, milk has a heavy environmental footprint, especially greenhouse gas production, and if everyone consumed 3 glasses per day, this would make avoiding extreme globally warming very difficult,” he elaborated. “This should be at least be considered when making decisions about production and consumption of milk.”
Dubbed the powerhouses of the cell because
they turn nutrients into energy, mitochondria are tiny organelles that live
inside the cell and are key to metabolic health. New research offers fresh
insights into how they work and what keeps them healthy.
Because of the role of the mitochondria in metabolic and overall health,
previous research has suggested that dysfunction in these organelles may have
implications in conditions such as obesity and diabetes.
Other conditions that mitochondrial
dysfunction is involved in include age-related neurodegenerative conditions,
such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and Huntington’s disease.
In fact, mitochondrial dysfunction may be at
the root of the aging process, in general. Although also disputed, the
so-called mitochondrial-free radical theory of aging is a popular one, and more
than one study has suggested that boosting mitochondria’s health
can prevent cells from aging.
But what exactly keeps mitochondria in tip-top
shape or makes them “unhealthy” remains unknown.
Previously, researchers thought that one
molecular pathway that they called autophagy might offer precious clues to what
keeps mitochondria healthy or makes them dysfunctional.
Autophagy — a word derived from ancient Greek
to mean “self-eating” — is a “cellular survival pathway that recycles intracellular
components to compensate for nutrient depletion and ensures the appropriate
degradation of organelles.”
Therefore, it is key for the health of
mitochondria, and previous studies have shown that exercise boosts autophagy,
and the researchers believed that a high fat diet might impair the process.
The latest research
looked at this pathway in mice and examined the ways in which exercise and a
high fat diet affect it, as well as how these changes affect mitochondrial
health.
Sarah Ehrlicher, a doctoral candidate in the
College of Public Health and Human Sciences at Oregon State University in
Corvallis, is the first author of the paper, which appears in the FASEB Journal.
Ehrlicher and colleagues “stressed” the
mitochondria of transgenic mice by making the animals exercise on a treadmill.
Genetic alterations impaired their exercise-induced autophagy pathway.
The rodents were euthanized 36 hours after
their last bout of exercise and 4 hours after their last meal, and the
researchers examined the mitochondria in the rodents’ muscle cells.
What the team found
was that despite the genetic modification and the added stress of exercise, the
mitochondrial function of the mice’s muscles remained intact.
As a next step, Ehrlicher and colleagues fed
the mice a high fat diet in addition to the exercise regimen to stress the
mitochondria even more.
Again, the mice’s mitochondria showed signs
of intact health and adaptation, even with the autophagy pathway blocked. This,
explains the study’s lead author, suggests that the mitochondria have
alternative ways to stimulate recycling and limit the damage.
Matt Robinson, a researcher in the same
department as Ehrlicher and the last and corresponding author of the study,
reports on the results.
He says, “[When]
these animals were given a high fat diet, they got better at burning off those
fats. If they were given just the exercise, they were able to make more
mitochondria, which is good from an exercise perspective.And
those adaptations seem to be very specific.”
The authors add that the findings elucidate
more about how mitochondria work and what keeps them healthy.
The study “helps lay some future groundwork
for how we can optimize (muscle and mitochondrial) health to promote their
health with diseases like obesity, diabetes, even some implications with aging
— conditions that we know have compromised mitochondria,” says Robinson.
Exercise may be one such way of optimizing
mitochondrial and metabolic health. “Even without changes in weight, exercise
has this amazing ability to improve metabolic health,” Ehrlicher says.
Obese mice do not seem to have an obvious
pathway dysfunction in their mitochondria, and the muscles just seem to respond
and adapt well to new stress, whether that is exercise or a high fat diet.
A new paper by the Chinese Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CCDC) finds that the majority of coronavirus cases are mild, with
older adults and people who have other conditions being most at risk.
CCDC’s
Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia Emergency Response Epidemiology Team has conducted
a study wherein they analyze all the confirmed coronavirus cases, as of
February 11, 2020.
Experts
have recently named the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. The disease
that infection with the virus causes is called COVID-19.
In the
new study, the CCDC team extracted all the COVID-19 cases that China’s
Infectious Disease Information System had recorded.
In
their analysis, the scientists included the following:
a
“summary of patient characteristics”
an
analysis of viral spread by age and sex
a
calculation of deaths and the “case fatality rate”
an
analysis of viral spread over time and geographical space
an epidemiological curve,
or visual display of the outbreak
a
subgroup analysis of cases outside of China’s Hubei Province and “all
cases among health workers nationwide”
The
findings appear in the journal CCDC Weekly.
80.9% of the cases are
‘mild’
The
researchers analyzed a total of 72,314 patient records, which included: “44,672
(61.8%) confirmed cases, 16,186 (22.4%) suspected cases, 10,567 (14.6%)
clinically diagnosed cases,” and “889 asymptomatic cases (1.2%).”
Of the
total number of individuals with confirmed cases, 80.9% were said to be “mild.”
Most of the adults affected were between 30 and 79 years old.
Of the
total number of confirmed cases, there were 1,023 fatalities, the equivalent of
a death rate of 2.3%. The virus proved more fatal for men — 2.8% — than women —
1.7%.
Less deadly than SARS
Importantly,
the study found that the case fatality rate rises with age. Specifically, up to
the age of 39 years old, the fatality rate is 0.2%, at the age of 40, it is
0.4%, 1.3% for those in their 50s, 3.6% for people in their 60s, and finally,
8% for those in their 70s.
By
comparison, the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) that health experts
have likened coronavirus to affected fewer people in 2002–2003, but the death
rate was 14–15%, according to the
World Health Organization (WHO).
In
terms of the geotemporal spread of the virus, the study confirms that “COVID-19
spread outward from Hubei Province sometime after December 2019, and by
February 11, 2020, 1,386 counties across all 31 provinces were affected.”
The
study also found that people with cardiovascular disease were at the highest
risk of death from coronavirus, followed by those with diabetes, chronic
respiratory disease, hypertension, and cancer.
Furthermore,
the authors note a “downward trend in the overall epidemic curve.”
The
epidemic curve showed that the onset of symptoms “peaked around January 23–26,
then began to decline, leading up to February 11,” they write.
They
add that this suggests “that perhaps isolation of whole cities, broadcast of
critical information (e.g., promoting handwashing, mask wearing, and care
seeking) with high frequency through multiple channels, and mobilization of [a]
multi-sector rapid response teams is helping to curb the epidemic.”
The
current outbreak of infections with a novel type of coronavirus has sparked
global anxiety and concern that the virus might spread too far and too fast and
cause dramatic harm before health officials find a way to stop it. But what are
the realities of the new coronavirus outbreak? We investigate.
What are
the realities of the new coronavirus outbreak?
In
December last year, reports started to emerge that a coronavirus that
specialists had never before seen in humans had begun to spread among the
population of Wuhan, a large city in the Chinese province of Hubei.
Since then, the virus has
spread to other countries, both in and outside Asia, leading authorities to
describe this as an outbreak. At the end of last month, the World Health
Organization (WHO) declared the situation to be a public health emergency.
To date, the novel
coronavirus — currently dubbed 2019-nCoV for short — has been responsible
for 31,211 infections in China and 270 across 24 other world
countries. In China, the virus has so far caused 637 deaths. It also led to one
fatality in the Philippines.
But what do we really know
about this virus? And how is it likely to affect the global population?
Medical
News Today have contacted the WHO, used the information that public
health organizations have offered, and looked at the newest studies that have
featured in peer-reviewed journals to answer these and other questions from our
readers.
1. What is the new
virus?
2019-nCoV is a coronavirus.
Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that target and affect mammals’
respiratory systems. According to their specific characteristics, there are
four main “ranks” (genera) of coronaviruses, which are called alpha, beta,
delta, and gamma.
Most of these only affect
animals, but a few can also pass to humans. Those that are transmissible to
humans belong to only two of these genera: alpha and beta.
Only two coronaviruses have
previously caused global outbreaks. The first of these was the SARS
coronavirus — responsible for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) —
which first started spreading back in 2002, also in China. The SARS virus
epidemic primarily affected the populations of mainland China and Hong Kong,
and it died off in 2003.
The other one was
the MERS coronavirus — or Middle East respiratory syndrome
coronavirus — which emerged in Saudi Arabia in 2012. This virus has affected at
least 2,494 people since then.
2. Where did the virus
originate?
When humans do become
infected with a coronavirus, this typically happens via contact with an
infected animal.
Some of the
most common carriers are bats, although they do not typically transmit
coronaviruses directly to humans. Instead, the transmission might occur via an
“intermediary” animal, which will usually — though not always — be a domestic
one.
The SARS coronavirus spread
to humans via civet cats, while the MERS virus spread via dromedaries. However,
it can be difficult to determine the animal from which a coronavirus infection
first starts spreading.
In the case of the new
coronavirus, initial reports from China tied the outbreak to a seafood market
in central Wuhan. As a result, local authorities closed down the market on
January 1.
However, later
assessments have since suggested that this market was unlikely to be the
single source of the coronavirus outbreak, as some of the people infected with
the virus had not been frequenting the market.
Specialists have not yet
been able to determine the true source of the virus or even confirm whether
there was a single original reservoir.
hatever
our take on Valentine’s Day, for those of us who are at all interested in
pursuing romantic relationships, a key question remains: What makes a healthy
relationship? In this feature, we give you an overview of what specialist
studies have found.
Share on PinterestHow
can you build and maintain a happy relationship? We give you our top five tips.
“I’ve been making a list of the things they don’t teach
you at school. They don’t teach you how to love somebody.”
So writes Neil Gaiman in the ninth volume of the comic
book series The Sandman, “The Kindly
Ones.”
Indeed, there is no single tried and true recipe for love
and successful relationships that anyone can teach us. Different approaches
work for different partnerships, and there is no point in trying to come up
with strict guidelines for love.
Nevertheless, the reasons why relationship quality can
deteriorate over time — or why relationships fail altogether — tend to be
consistent.
Many researchers have studied what makes people leave a
relationship, and what motivates them to stay together.
In this feature, we give you our top research-backed tips
on what to look out for in building a meaningful, healthy, happy relationship.
First of all, research suggests that there may be some
truth to the phrase “start as you mean to go on” when it comes to
relationships.
Recent studies suggest that, in many cases, people who are
dating end up “falling” into a committed relationship out of a sense of
inertia, and couples may end up living together even when they are unsure if
they belong together.
“[M]any,
if not most, couples slide from noncohabitation to cohabitation before fully
realizing what is happening; it is often a nondeliberative and incremental
process,” report researchers from the
University of Denver in Colorado.
For instance, someone may end up deciding to move in, and,
maybe, eventually, marry their partner simply because they have already spent a
significant amount of time together and established a bond.
This can happen — argue dating and relationships researchers
Samantha Joel, Ph.D., and Prof. Paul Eastwick — even when one or both partners
are convinced, at the start of their relationship, that they are not
necessarily well suited to each other.
Medical News Today spoke
to Alex Psaila, clinical supervisor at Relate North
and South West Sussex, a United Kingdom-based registered charity
that provide relationship support and mediation. We asked him about early “red
flags” that people may want to remember when starting a new relationship.
Blind love, he told us, can prevent individuals from
acknowledging possible issues and personality clashes. It can also make them
think that — no matter how bothersome some of their new partner’s behaviors
might be — these will likely change with time. Not so, said Psaila:
“Does
anyone go into a relationship with the idea that this relationship is flawed?
If we are aware of something [being not quite right], we might tell ourselves
that ‘we’ll fix it’ […] For the most part ‘being in love’ is like Cupid — blind
— and we gloss over potential difficulties, wanting to believe it will go away
and love will conquer all.“
Joel and Prof. Eastwick argue that if people took more
time to do some — potentially difficult — soul searching before committing to a
relationship, they might be able to avoid entering a situation that will prove
unsatisfactory for both partners in the long run.
We should, that is, start new relationships with a sense
of purpose, really thinking about what we want and need, and if the person we
are dating is truly likely to align with those wants and needs — and we with
theirs.
“People may be able to boost their own relational, health,
and well-being trajectories by more selectively choosing and investing in new
relationships that are right for them and rejecting those that are not right
for them,” write Joel and Prof. Eastwick.
As with anything, open communication is necessary when it
comes to building and maintaining a healthy relationship.
And in a long-term relationship, calm, open, and
constructive communication is essential when it comes to solving conflict since
no interpersonal bond ever comes truly free from conflict.
“Stress can arise in relationships when partners
experience conflicting goals, motives and preferences,” write Profs Nickola
Overall and James McNulty in a recent study about
communication during conflict.
The possible reasons for conflict in a romantic
relationship can vary widely, and Profs Overall and McNulty cite unmet
expectations, financial difficulties, the distribution of responsibilities,
parenting styles, and jealousy, among others.
“Unresolved conflicts and the stress associated with
conflict put even the most satisfying relationship at risk. Moreover, managing
and resolving conflict is difficult, and can itself be a significant source of
stress,” they note.
So what is the best way to communicate when it comes to
solving conflicts in an intimate relationship?
According to the researchers, it depends. However, burying
one’s feelings and misgivings, and brushing disagreements quickly under the
carpet is unlikely to help, they say.
Profs
Overall and McNulty suggest that it is crucial for couples first to evaluate the
context in which the conflict has arisen in order to decide how best to address
it.
When a serious issue is at stake, the researchers explain,
it is important for both partners to express their opposing views and negotiate
the direction of change.
However, if the couple is having disagreements about minor
issues, or issues outside their control, it may be more helpful for them to
acknowledge the problem but express mutual validation, affection, and
forgiveness.
Psaila expressed a similar perspective to MNT. People
who maintain healthy, happy relationships, he says, “say sorry and make
reparation [when they acknowledge that they have done something hurtful].”
However, Psaila adds, they “do not hang on to secretive,
hidden shame,” following a discordant situation.
“They
learn from mistakes and know that awareness of their vulnerability is a
strength. They can and will seek help and advice from trusted relatives,
friends, mentors (even [trained] counselors).“
– Alex Psaila
Psaila also notes that people who want their relationship
to thrive also show openness to receiving support from a professional
therapist, not just when things go wrong, but to make sure they stay the
course.
Life can sometimes get in the way of our spending time
with the people we love, even when we share a living space. The demands of
work, for instance, can leave us little time — and sometimes little energy — to
do something enjoyable with our partners.
Yet research shows that couples who participate in fun
activities together may also find it easier to stay together.
For instance, one study covered on MNT last
year suggested that couples who make time to play board
games together also had a good quality love life.
The
study found a simple reason for this correlation: Partners who took part in
these fun activities together saw an increase in oxytocin, the “love hormone,”
so-called because it plays a key role in bonding behaviors.
Karen Melton, Ph.D., and her colleagues — who conducted
the board games study — note that, for a couple’s activity to lead to the spike
in oxytocin, it likely should involve interaction between the partners.
Simply attending an event together but not interacting,
for instance, may not have the same bonding effect.
The researchers also found that the novelty factor
influenced how much oxytocin they released: Couples who organized their fun
activity in a new place outside their home saw a greater “love hormone” boost
than those who played at home.
The takeaway? Doing fun things, ideally in new, unfamiliar
surroundings, might help maintain relationship quality.
Although spending quality time with your loved ones is
essential, it is at least as important to spend quality time on our own — and
allow partners to do the same.
“A healthy relationship is a bit like breathing in and
then breathing out,” Psaila explained for MNT.
“There is a cycle of closeness and distance, of coming
together, even merging and separation, individuation, [creating a] sense of
self […] Both are important. If the relationship is too distant — little
closeness — then the idea of seeking this elsewhere will arise (perhaps
disguised as feeling abandoned and being unloved),” he noted.
Yet too much closeness can make a relationship feel like a
trap and, taken to an extreme — if a partner gradually isolates their
“significant other” from friends, family, and activities that they enjoy —
could even be a mark of emotional
abuse.
“If
the relationship is too close, suffocating even, then the couple [becomes]
merged and there is little scope for exploration and growth, of other
interactions, of missing your loved one and wanting to return, bringing new
ideas and energy into the relationship.“
While couples are at the beginning of their relationship,
in the “honeymoon” phase, the partners will shower each other with affection
and words of appreciation.
But often, as time goes on, partners may start taking each
other for granted and forget to show the same kind of admiration they once did.
According
to a study from 2017, one of the main reasons
for long-term couples splitting up was that one of the partners was no longer
showing enough affection and attention to the other.
And a study from 2018 found
that young adults — aged 18–29 — who perceived that their partner put a similar
effort into initiating text conversations also reported greater relationship
satisfaction.
Other research has
shown that women who reported being satisfied in their romantic relationships
also reported that their partners were appreciative of their bodies. And, they
reported increased satisfaction with their sex lives.
Finally, although material gifts are not a measure of love
in any relationship, some studies have shown that when a partner can and does
offer gifts, this can contribute to relationship satisfaction if done
correctly.
Research from last year suggests
that for a gift to increase relationship satisfaction, it has to be well
thought out. The gifts we offer to others, the researchers explain, can reflect
the image they have of themselves or the image we have of them.
If the two do not coincide, then it is likely that the
gift we pick will be disappointing to the receiver. But, the researchers say,
if we know our partners well, we will manage to pick a gift that truly fits in
with their personality and hobbies — and will reflect positively on our
relationship.
No matter how you choose to show your affection, though,
expressing your appreciation of your significant other — and not just on
Valentine’s Day — is a safe bet when it comes to maintaining relationship
quality.
However, even if you put in all the effort you can muster
into a romantic relationship, sometimes, it will not work out, and that should
necessarily be a cause for regret.
If a relationship does not make you feel happy, secure,
and valued, it may be time to turn your attention to yourself and invest more
in some self-love before you decide how or whether
to start afresh with someone new.
