Health & Sex

10 Ways to Make Your Relationship More Thrilling

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8. Become a master of seduction

A little bit of forethought can awaken some of the passion in your marriage, even on an ordinary Tuesday night. Rob Czaplewski, 29, of Grand Island, NB, likes to get home from work before his wife and put a love note on the back door. "Then I have her favorite music playing with all the candles lit in the living room and a bed of pillows on the floor," he says, "and finally, the promise of a backrub to help her relax."

Jenna Schlehuber, 42, of Moran, MI, used a bottle of cologne to build temptation. She bought her husband a scent she really liked and had it wrapped. When he went upstairs that evening to take his shower, she left it on his pillow with a card that said, "Would you wear this tonight for me, and only this?" Says Schlehuber, "After a few minutes, I went upstairs to find him just the way I asked, waiting patiently for me to come to bed. What a romantic evening we had -- better than ever. And he loved the cologne, too."

9. Profit from the passion

Sex is something relationship experts universally agree will bolster just about every area of a marriage -- including its thrill quotient. "Increased sexual contact," says Lopez, "is a way to recapture the erotic force that brought you together in the first place." Weiner-Davis tells of one woman who, soon after resolving to have more sex with her husband, not only characterized her marriage as more thrilling but said that he suddenly began mowing the lawn regularly and making her coffee in the morning -- unasked.

10. Take a trip to nowhere

At the beginning of your relationship, every date was an adventure; you never knew quite what was going to happen or how it was going to end up. So one weekend, take a trip -- overnight or just for the day -- without knowing where you're going. No packing, no planning. Says Patty Moosbrugger, 35, of New York City, who's been married for six years, "Every now and then we just grab sweaters and sandwiches and get on a train. We get out when we feel like it and spend the day exploring wherever we land." By letting go of some of the control you have over your lives, you'll recapture that exciting sense of the unknown you felt when you first met.

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