After tying the knot, you and your significant other might feel overwhelmed with positive emotions. A wedding can be a magical time when everyday life pauses as you lose yourself completely in the flow of festivities. Once it is over and done with, however, plenty of couples struggle with how to adjust to married life. More often than not, being married isn’t much different than living together. Still, a few small changes need to be made to ensure your lives are not disrupted significantly by your new union.
Sleep
While this advice can be applied to almost anyone, it is very important for newlyweds to get ample sleep. The months leading up to your wedding were likely fraught with all manner of tasks, obligations, and minor crises. Now that the bells have ceased their chiming, you no longer need to spend endless hours on the phone with vendors and distant relatives. Establishing a consistent sleep schedule with your spouse is a wonderful way to get your marriage off on the right foot. Studies show that couples who go to bed at roughly the same time get along slightly better.
Beyond the obvious importance of proper rest, you may not always have the luxury of sleeping a full eight hours. If you plan on having children in the near future, for example, then you can expect years of sleepless nights on your horizon. While you can’t “stock up” on sleep in advance, you can at least enjoy the comfort of going to bed and not having to wake up every few hours to feed, change, or comfort a little one. Enjoy proper rest while you can or you might have to wait years to experience it again.
Hang With Friends
At your wedding, you likely stood next to your significant other and made a comment like “I am so happy to be marrying my best friend.” While it is true that your spouse should be both a friend and a lover, you don’t want to neglect the actual friends you have had throughout your life. Plenty of couples isolate themselves after getting married and no longer make the effort to go out and socialize with the people they care about. Unfortunately, this is an easy way to lose your friends.
One of the best habits newlyweds can form is making a concerted effort to spend time with friends and family members. You definitely don’t need to hit the bar every night the way you did in your early 20s, but you can grab drinks every now and again. Having shared friends is normal for couples, but it is equally important to have separate friends you can turn to when you need a break or an unbiased opinion on a situation related to your relationship.
Exercise Regularly
Married life has a way of making people far more sedentary than they were before walking down the aisle. There are a number of reasons for this, the most common being that people “let go” once they no longer feel the need to impress a partner. Sadly, falling out of shape early in your marriage means it will be a lot harder to fix issues down the line. Instead, you and your partner may want to create an exercise routine together. Start the morning with yoga before work, or hit the gym after dinner to create healthier patterns.
Marriage is often viewed as an adventure between two people. While you want to devote yourself to your partner, you also need to stay aware of how your new status as a married couple will change your lives. Keep factors like sleep, exercise, and regular socialization in mind and it will be much easier to manage your new role in life.
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