6 Ways to Celebrate Your Husband (or Wife). Tonight!

It took a friend a week to realize that her spouse had shaved off his beard, she recently told me over the phone. She was upset when she saw how different he appeared without facial hair. She questioned me, "What does that say about our relationship that I didn't notice?" "Do I ever look at him?"

Even worse, she recalled her husband asking her often in the week following his shaving, "Do you observe something different about me?" "No, what?" my pal would scoff as she did this. Take a moment today to reflect on how you can make your husband happy. unhappy couples are frequently taken aback by how important tiny romantic gestures are in creating successful relationships. Here are some excellent advice for a successful marriage.

1. Share your full attention as a gift. It's simple to only pay your partner half attention in a world where responding to after-hours calls and emails is required for business. Or you might both be using your iPhones while you watch the most recent Homeland episode.

2. After you get home from work, give a 20-second reunion embrace. According to Ashley Davis Bush, a psychologist, and author of 75 Habits for a Healthy Marriage, it is essential for couples to feel connected to one another by simply hugging their partner. Hugging your lover releases the happy hormone oxytocin, which benefits both of you, but what's more essential is that an "intentional reunion" makes your partner feel valued. She suggests telling them how pleased you are to see them or that they are back home. Bush calls it "a remarkable act of goodwill." They'll want to do the same for you since they'll feel so deeply loved and appreciated.

3. A morning ritual is checking in. Ask your partner about their day as you're drinking your coffee or getting a breakfast bar to eat on your way to work. You can even wish them success with their major assignment. It won't take more than a minute, but it will serve as a reminder to your spouse that you are still interested in them despite the passage of time. Your partner will be pleased by those simple words. The foundation of intimacy, according to Goulston, is spending time and effort trying to understand the other person.

4. Surprise them with little, kind acts. Maybe your partner complained about having a sore back; in that case, why not bring home a gift certificate for a massage from a nearby spa? Are you hearing from your wife that she wants to go out? Make plans for her to have dinner at a brand-new eatery in town as a surprise. Send him a romantic text message during the day or leave him a note in his luggage. An Amazon wish list of items that make one woman's spouse think of her is constantly updated. He surprises his wife with a thoughtful item that is brought to her home when he wants to make her feel valued. "It helps me forget that my husband never throws his socks in the hamper because it makes me feel like he listens to almost everything I say,"

5. Compliment your partner once per day. John Gottman, a pioneer in the field of marital science, found that happy couples had 20 pleasant encounters for every bad one. A straightforward complement might improve the satisfaction in your relationship. Bush says your compliment is extremely particular. Don't say, "That's a nice dress." "That dress looks amazing on you," perhaps. Bush claims: "A personal comment has more impact than a generic one."

6. Have a regular bedtime. Couples stay in bed longer in the morning and cuddle closer at night when they are first in love. Even though it's common for part of that affection to fade, keep it alive. Goulston believes it's crucial for couples to go to bed at the same time, even if it means the night owl may get up and return downstairs to watch TV after a short while. He instructs them to lay down together, touch each other's arms, and say goodnight. "It's a statement, a way of saying we're in this together."