Love & body How to get an MA in love. And, amazing workout fixes

That’s a degree in ‘Micro Affection’ – because the little things do matter.

1Get in on each other’s hobbies “I love reading, but my husband has dyslexia, so he’ll often get the same book as me on tape, and listen along all night. Or I’ll read a chapter out loud before falling asleep. It’s just a tiny gesture, but it says a lot about the way we ‘do’ love – which is to be together as much as possible. We work together as well, so we need to build in time doing small quality things together, or we’d just end up talking shop all the time.” – Harriet, 30

2 Set up a safe word “We were 14 and had no real concept of forever, but we swore that no matter what, if one of us said the word ‘pancakes’ in a context outside of brunch, it meant we needed support. It was our emotional safe word and I reckon all couples should have one – a password that gives us direct access to sentimental support and love. My ex and I are on lovely terms, and I genuinely think if I messaged him that word now, he’d call and check I was OK.” – Kate, 28

3 Be your own rom-com “My favourite thing we do is greet each other dramatically in public. If one of us meets the other at the airport or bus stop, we have to run slow-motion towards each other like in a movie. We do long-distance most of the time and that one silly ritual makes our reunions more exciting. It’s the corniest thing, but it’s our approach to our whole relationship: be dramatic and do things that make us laugh.” – Matilda, 25

4 Clothes off, phones off “We have one unbreakable rule at home: when we’re in bed, we’re not allowed to wear our pyjamas or use technology. It’s a no-clothes, no-phones zone and it increases our chances of having sex by 100%.” – Edwina, 32

5 Hit the reset button “Whenever my ex-boyfriend and I used to fight, one of us would press the other person’s belly button and make a ‘boop’ noise, like it was our reset button. It meant we had to start our conversation again and try to make it a nicer one. It was surprisingly effective – and probably because it was quite silly – but being a bit childish with each other worked for us. It reminded us not to take ourselves seriously.” – Claudia, 34