Couples Who Cuddle More Are Happier And Have Deeper Connections

One of the most important things I look for in a relationship is someone who will make the perfect cuddle buddy.

That's right. It's not as important to me what your relationship is like with your parents, what you do for a living or how dingy your apartment is. If you know how to be the spoon of my dreams, you have already unlocked the key to my heart.

There's nothing better than cuddling up with the person you love so dearly and holding him or her throughout the night. When you snuggle with your beau, that person is on your mind when you fall asleep and the first thing you see in the morning.

When we find the yin to our yang, or the big spoon to our little spoon, we unlock a truly important part of a relationship: nurturing.

Sharing sleep with your lover is an easy way to get over stressful situations with each other and form a close bond without saying a word.

A growing pool of research proves that not only is sleeping while wrapped up in our significant other's arms helpful to reducing stress, but it also helps our relationships flourish and blossom into the beautiful unions we're all capable of having.

Snuggle sessions may make you fall even deeper in love.

When you rest your head down with the person who matters most to you in the entire world, you begin to shut out all of that outside noise and fall into a deep tranquility.

The downtime with our lovers gives us an intimate chance every day to experience serenity with someone we care so deeply for.

This daily experience becomes an essential part for relationships to grow and move past the awkward beginning phases, where both partners may still have walls or barriers between each other.

What's more: Research published in Springer's Archives of Sexual Behavior indicates that cuddling, as relaxing and peaceful as it is, may have some incredible effects on our relationships without us even realizing it.

The study examined 514 participants, 338 of which were women, to compare links between sexual activity, satisfaction in relationships and cuddling.

Robin Edelstein, relationship expert and author of the study, tells Elite Daily,

Our findings suggest that people feel more loving and affectionate toward their partner when they cuddle. They also cuddle because they feel loving and affectionate toward their partner. But cuddling also has a sexual component to it; it often leads to sexual activity and often happens after sex. So cuddling can serve many purposes in a romantic relationship and is generally experienced very positively.

Edelstein also notes that cuddling throughout your relationship can be an important factor in keeping the spark alive.

Because our emotional state is so positively affected by cuddling, it serves as an extremely important factor in relationships that keeps us happy, healthy and completely satisfied.

The benefits of spooning with your lover are endless, and research concludes that snuggling up with your bae creates happier connections and even more sex. And who doesn't love more sex, followed by a solid cuddle sesh, to end the day?

The answer is no one. Every single person loves cuddling at night, especially when they think they might have found "the one." And if your man tells you he doesn't, he's probably lying.

Edelstein goes on to say,

I think it's also worth noting that we found very few gender differences in terms of how people felt about cuddling, how often they reported cuddling, and what their motivations were for cuddling. So although there are stereotypes about men not enjoying cuddling or doing it only for the purposes of sex, we didn't find much evidence for this in our data.

Right on, Edelstein. Now my significant other has no excuse but to cuddle up with me every night, no matter how hot it is under the sheets.

Cuddling tells your partner you love him or her more than words ever could.

But sometimes, our partners just don't know how to say those three words with as much passion as we do. As a writer, I've come to learn that some people, no matter how much we love them, just aren't as good with words as we'd like them to be.

That doesn't mean your beau loves you any less, however. Marriage and family therapist David Klow tells Shape,

Most people want to feel understood, and communication is the vehicle by which they transmit understanding and empathy. Non-verbal communication can be a very powerful way to say to your partner, 'I get you.' Cuddling is a way of saying, 'I know how you feel.' It allows us to feel known by our partner in ways that words can't convey.

If you feel like you or you partner haven't been expressing your love for each other enough lately, or if you just want to feel that spark in the air once more, cuddle with your lover tonight. It may make all the difference.

Citations: Descriptive Experiences and Sexual vs. Nurturant Aspects of Cuddling between Adult Romantic Partners (Sexual Behavior), 5 Health Reasons to Make Time for Cuddling (Shape)