TIPS AND TRICKS

Want a Happier Relationship? Cultivate a Healthy Passion
That idea of starry-eyed lovers who are forever on each other’s minds and obsess over each other daily? Total B.S. You know this, but it’s important to remember. Because, as Susan Pileggi, author of Happy Together: Using the Science of Positive Psychology to Build Love That Lasts, points out, this thinking can give rise to the idea that obsessive passion is a healthy thing.

“In the beginning of a relationship, you can’t stop thinking about your partner, you might be distracted at work, you might cancel plans with friends to see your girlfriend or future spouse,” she explains. “But if that continues months or years into the relationship and you’re not seeing your friends anymore, you’re not engaging in activities that you did before the relationship, and you can’t focus on anything else, that could be more of an obsessive passion.”

To cultivate a healthy passion, Pileggi points out an obvious but sometimes hard-to-achieve solution: Make room in your mind for your other interests and other people. Then, when you are with your partner, find ways to connect over things that you both enjoy. “It’s about forging a deeper bond, not trying to be competitive,” Pileggi says. In other words: Don’t choose something that you really like and enjoy and your partner has no interest in. “The idea,” says Pileggi, “is to connect, not to compete.”

TIPS AND TRICKS

Infant Sleep Trouble? Consider These Three Tips

Block out all light.
Blackout curtains are essential baby sleep gear. But before you set them up and call it a day, go into the room, turn out the lights, and stand there and look for more light leakage. Power strips glowing? Humidifier blasting out blue light? Cover it up with electric tape. Is it a little paranoid? Yes, but this is sleep we’re talking about.

Be More Boring.
Babies thrive on routine. So come up with one, especially around sleep and naps, and stick to it. Will your life be a little more predictable and boring? Yes. But it will also be healthier and happier for it. 

Check the room temp.
You’ll be tempted to crank up the heat and get your infant all warm and cuddly. Avoid this temptation. A nursery should be around 68 degrees. Any more and your baby can overheat.

Here are some more sleep tips to remember.