How to Make Time With Family and Loved Ones Count

Making time for social connections can reduce the chances of depression and anxiety caused by loneliness. And those connections can have broader benefits as well.

here are a few simple ways to integrate face-to-face interaction into your family’s lifestyle.

Eating together as a family requires intentional effort, but most families can manage it at least a few times through the week. The intention, however, starts at the top.

You may want to reassess the timing of extracurricular activities to see if you can align your schedules to allow everyone to have a seat at the table.

To get the full benefit of those meals, keep away the phones and turn off the TV. You may want to have a basket for everyone to put their phones in, on silent, before the meal starts.

The goal is to not just eat but to get a sense of what’s going on in everyone’s lives, and to get the gist of their emotional state.

Another important opportunity to reconnect with each other is winding down together before bed. You probably know that using electronic devices in the hour before bed makes it harder to fall and stay asleep. So you can improve your physical health and the health of your relationships by using that time to connect with your spouse instead.

It’s a good idea to set your phone to “do not disturb” mode so you rest peacefully. This tech-free before sleep ritual gives you the opportunity to pay attention to your spouse and to stay emotionally attuned to how he or she is feeling.

The best opportunity for face-to-face, meaningful connection is to invite your family members into whatever you’re already doing.

Ask your kids to help you cook. Invite your spouse to walk the dog with you, and turn it into an evening ritual. Or suggest they join you on that evening errand to the Supermarket. Connection develops and strengthens in the little day-to-day moments.