BYU study links exercising together to better communication in marriage

Couples who exercised together reported better communication, more effective conflict resolution and less marital stress than couples who did not share physical activity, according to research from Brigham Young University reported by ScienceDaily. The study was published in the journal Family Relations.

"Our findings suggest that conjoint exercise facilitates, in a small but significant way, the ability to resolve conflict peacefully," said Jeremy Yorgason, a professor in the BYU School of Family Life who led the research. "People reported more positive outcomes in communication and conflict resolution when they exercised together." Conjoint exercise means physical activity done together as a couple.

The researchers examined survey responses from nearly 1,700 young married couples enrolled in the Couple Relationships and Transition Experiences (CREATE) study, a nationally representative project that has tracked newly married couples across the United States for more than a decade. They compared individual exercise and exercise done together as a couple against three measures of relationship health: communication, conflict resolution and marital stress. Both forms of exercise were associated with healthier marriages, but physical activity done together consistently showed stronger links to positive relationship outcomes than working out separately.

"About 60% of husbands and wives in the sample said they exercised, but only about a third exercised together," Yorgason said. "That means about half the people who exercise are not exercising with their spouse. While the impact is not necessarily large, it is very consistent, which gives me confidence that it is influencing relationships in some meaningful way."

Walking was the most common form of shared exercise reported by couples in the study, a finding the researchers said suggests spouses may not need costly gym memberships or elaborate home workout equipment to experience the potential relationship benefits of being active together. Co-author Ashlyn Hiatt Mildenhall, who first became involved in the project as an undergraduate researcher at BYU, said exercise had the biggest impact on communication of the three outcomes measured. "That's why it was interesting that walking was the number one reported exercise," Mildenhall said. "It naturally provides opportunities to communicate."

Couples who exercised together also reported better listening and stronger feelings that their spouse heard and supported them, according to the study. Yorgason said those interactions may help explain why shared physical activity was associated with healthier communication and better conflict resolution. According to the researchers, exercising together is not a solution for every relationship difficulty, and young couples, particularly those raising children, may need deliberate planning to find time for shared physical activity.