Finding a balance: Alone time more important for relationships than dates, survey says

NEW YORK — How important is some “me-time” to you when it comes to romance? A recent survey of 2,000 Americans finds that a substantial 85% believe that being allowed ample time to themselves is key for a healthy relationship — even more so than going on dates! In fact, 41% said they would actually break up with their romantic partner if they didn’t leave them alone from time to time.

The survey, commissioned by Elements Massage, also revealed that 82% believe some healthy time away from their partner actually makes their relationship stronger. Another 58% said they encourage their partner to spend time alone. Overall, many respondents even said that carving out some “me-time” is among their biggest priorities.

The average ideal amount of alone time is 51 minutes per day, according to the survey, or about six hours a week.

In all, 83% believe they deserve some self-care and time to themselves. So, how are Americans spending their precious alone time? The most popular way to spend that 51 minutes each day was watching television and movies (60%). A close second to watching television was reading books, at 56%, followed by listening to podcasts at 42%, exercising at 38%, and having a cup of tea (34%).

The survey also found that there are certain situations that cause Americans to seek out more alone time than usual. Half of the participants cited work stress as a major “me time” trigger, followed by the holidays (47%), home-related stress (47%), having family in town (45%), and lack of sleep (38%).

As far as major life priorities, the number one response was spending time with family (57%), with “me-time” (46%) coming in second. From there, date nights (45%), leisure time (41%), and catching up with friends (39%) were also popular responses.

The survey was conducted by OnePoll.

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