7 Reasons Why Date Nights Are Important ...

1. Keeps the Spark Alive

When you're so focused on work, kids, and just getting through the day, it's easy to miss why date nights are important. When you're in a relationship, date nights are vital to the success of your relationship. If you never go out on dates and reconnect with the person you love, the reasons you love them can slip through the cracks and be easily forgotten. When hard times come, you'll need that spark to carry you through.

2. Maintains Your Appearance

It's hard to stay fit, keep your nails painted, and get your hair done even when you're single, let alone while in a relationship. But when you have someone to impress, you're more likely to maintain your appearance than just let it all go. You care about what they think and if they find you attractive, so you're more likely to be the best you can be if you have little reminders like date nights.

3. Gives You an Excuse

You know that gorgeous red dress you saw in the store that you wanted so badly? Date nights give you an excuse to buy items like that. It won't just hang in your closet, forgotten and abandoned. Oh no. That dress will make you the hottest date known to man, and boost your self-esteem while you're in it. So next time your man asks you if those shoes are necessary, the answer is yes. You really do need all those stilettos in your closet.

4. Shows Priority

Your relationship, assuming it's important to you, should be at the top of your list, even before work and right up there with children. Every type of relationship needs to be a priority at some point. When you're trying to get a promotion at work, you put your job first and work your butt off. When you have kids, you're actively involved in their lives, building a relationship with them so you can have a future with them. It's no different with your significant other. Ensuring that you have date nights on a regular basis actively proves that your relationship is a high priority, as it should be.

5. Take Time out from Responsibilities

Sometimes you just need to get away from everything. The buzzing of phones, the noise of children, the sounds of life in general. It's important to turn off the phones and disappear every once in a while. Too much work and no play causes a lot of stress and can affect every area of your life. Having regular date nights gives you freedom from those stressors and special time with the one you care about.

6. Continues the Chase

Once you've snagged the person you're dating, the relationship can often go downhill from there. We stop trying and we stop chasing. Why is that? It's important to continue to pursue your significant other, even after you've caught him or her. It's edifying when your significant other finds flowers on the table for her, or he gets the cat call even when he's wearing nothing but boxers. Never stop chasing each other.

7. Grow Together and Make Memories

Time flies by, and far too often do we let those moments pass without enjoying them. Date nights are all about doing something fun together: taking time out to make a new memory, trying something you've never tried, and expanding your horizons together. Many relationships fail because couples don't do enough things together and they grow apart. It's not rare to be two years into a relationship, maybe even less, and feel as though you have nothing in common with your love anymore. That's because you've done your own thing for too long without involving them and you've grown apart. So make time to do things together and reconnect on a regular basis.

In the grand scheme of things, it's easy to push dating on to the back burner and forget why date nights are so important. It may not even make sense to you. You've already got a relationship, why continue to date? Dating is the life blood of your relationship. If you give up date nights, you're more likely to grow apart and the relationship might find itself coming to an end. So never stop dating and doing little things for each other. How do you keep the spark alive?