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    1. Life
    2. Relationships

    These are the things that will definitely happen to every long-term couple

    According to science

    Delphine Chui's avatar
    By Delphine Chui
    Published 2 June 2017 In Features

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    According to science

    Love. It's a funny thing eh?

    It has the ability to give you warm and fuzzy butterflies one day and stomach-wrenching pain the next, especially if you're in what's called a 'dramatic' relationship (according to these four types of relationships, anyway.)

    Well, apparently love also has the ability - according to legitimate science experts - to do other tangible things to long-term couples too.

    You'll start to look like your partner

    You know the saying that goes 'dogs look like their owners?' Well, apparently it starts becoming true for couples too. We're not just talking about matching outfits but about scientific convergence where couples who have been together for over 25 years will really noticeably start to look like each other. This is because we constantly mirror each other's facial expressions and this actually creates 'vascular changes' to your face.

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    You'll start sounding like your partner, too

    Just like with the facial expressions, you also inherently mirror people's speech patterns when you like and spend a lot of time with them. So, don't be surprised if your accent and intonation change.

    Your relationship needs will change

    Again, according to science, people in short-term relationships desire physical attractiveness, high libido and obsessive infatuation while the longer you're with someone, the more you're supposedly after intelligence, warmth and honesty.

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    Your sleep cycles will eventually sync

    This means that your quality of sleep will be heavily linked to your partners so if one is struggling to sleep, the other may suffer too - but hopefully this works vice versa as well. And, in marriage, marital satisfaction directly correlates to the couple having close and successful sleeping syncrony.

    After 11 months, you'll move into the comfortable stage

    Apparently it takes around this time to enter a comfort zone where you're wearing less make-up and sporting your sloppier (read: comfy) clothes.

    Delphine Chui
    Delphine Chui
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