Long-Distance Couples Have Happier Relationships, Says Study

Science finds that the more distance a couple has between them leads to more intimacy.

There are two types of people out there in the dating universe: People who believe long-distance relationships will work and people who do not. As a person who is currently in a long-distance relationship, I’d like to politely point everyone to anew study that recently came out that thankfully confirms that long-distance relationship really DO work — and how!

A study that involved 63 college students found that long-distance relationships can be equally, if not more satisfying than a relationship between people who live close.

Couples who are farther apart also are more likely to communicate about their thoughts and feelings, which leads to better emotional intimacy. So take THAT, couples that get to hang out whenever they want!

“Establish the needs of each partner early on, practice working towards meeting those needs, and give feedback about which needs are still being unmet,” Emma Dargie, a PhD student in clinical psychology at Queen’s University and conductor of the study writes to Business Insider. “Those who are certain of when they will be in the same city as their partner seem to cope better with the distance.”

Dargie’s study had 474 women and 243 men in long-distance relationships answer questions about the intimacy, commitment, communication, and sexual satisfaction. She then had 314 women and 111 men answer the same questions about their relationship with people who lived close to them.

In the end, there was no difference in quality of their relationships, except the couples who live farther apart are also the ones with higher their level of satisfaction, intimacy, and communication