I’m a relationship expert – these are my top tips to keep your love life steamy from shared showers to washing up naked
THE key to a long-lasting relationship is getting hot and steamy.
A new study has found that singing in the shower with your other half can help strengthen a lovers’ bond and even slash the odds of divorce.
The combination of suds and songs leads to the hormone dopamine, the “feel-good” neurotransmitter, being released in the brain.
Sex and relationship expert Rebecca Dakin said: “True intimacy is not just about sex. There are a whole range of wonderful ways you can strengthen your bond.
“From folding sheets together to doing the washing up naked, there’s many ways for Cupid’s arrow to keep the flames smouldering.”
Below, Rebecca reveals her top tips . . .
DRAW a portrait of your partner. Really pay attention to their features.
It can be naked or otherwise. You will see them in a whole new light.
DO the washing up together . . . naked! It will make a monotonous chore a bonding experience.
Make sure not to splash hot water on any intimate areas, though.
EAT dinner blindfolded. Take turns to serve your partner different foods, textures and flavours. It can be an exciting sensory and sensual experience.
GO skinny dipping – making sure you don’t get caught.
Or consider taking an ice bath together as it releases adrenaline and is a really great bonding experience. You will feel totally alive after it.
IT may sound odd but a scary activity can trigger oxytocin, the bonding hormone.
So go on a zip line, watch a horror movie or go on a ghost train together. Being spooked will make your love stronger.
GET your partner to shave you.
This works for men and women. It is a bonding experience on two levels because it is intimate and, because there is a blade, you are affirming trust.
DANCE to cheesy music together. Remember a hit from your school days and have a boogie and a snog and act as if you are 16 again.
It is a taste of the forbidden and it’s really hot as well.
FOLD up the laundry together. Not only does it give lovers time to talk, it also shows you have each other’s backs when it comes to the more mundane stuff and that will deepen your bond.
As you fold the sheets you can kiss when you get up close and personal.
TAKE a pottery class together and grab a moment to smooch like Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore in the movie Ghost.
It’s intimate and creative and you’re making something together — all of which are great for keeping romance alive.
GO shopping and choose an entire outfit for each other – including the underwear.
You may be surprised. It can help you push each other out of your comfort zone.
GET a blown-up photograph of the two of you together on your wedding day or a similarly memorable event. There are plenty of companies online which can turn that image into a jigsaw.
Then spend a night putting the puzzle together and reminiscing about the day.