Quiet time alone is a "must have" for happy couples. With all of life's modern conveniences, you would think that we would have more time to ourselves. Yet study after study continues to report just the opposite. Overall, we have less time to enjoy the good things in life -- things like quality time with each other. If we are not careful, our relationships can end up on the backburner and head down the wrong path.

There are ways to avoid this relationship pitfall. The Coalition for Marriage, Family and Couples Education, LLC suggests that couples "take a night off each week, go for a walk together every few days, go out to breakfast if you can’t have dinner alone, or just sit together for 15 minutes each evening simply talking, without any other distractions."

It is equally important to set aside time for yourself. A new study entitled A Survey Method for Characterizing Daily Life Experience, confirms that, at least for women, time alone is sanity-maintenance. This means time away from the stresses of your lover, your job, your friends and even your children.

Men, too, need time away from their lovers, friends and family. Just like women, men require quiet time to relax, reflect and rid themselves of whatever the day has brought about.

Quiet moments, both together and apart, are essential to a healthy relationship.

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