Dictionary.com defines the term stir crazy as “restless or frantic because of confinement.” I think that’s a concept all couples need to take very seriously. Summer makes people a little lazy. When it’s hot, it is only natural that people want to hide out inside, away from the brutal sun, ensconced in air conditioning. There is nothing wrong with a few lazy, indoor days. But make sure you follow them up with a little activity or you’ll basically breed arguments with your significant other.

I don’t think everybody’s necessarily like this, but a lot of people get irritable when they’re cooped up. I can always tell when the stir crazy is creeping in by how my husband and I react to a messy apartment. If we’ve been out and about all day, running errands, meeting up with friends, working, neither one of us is phased by a little clutter. If we’ve been lazing around and we hit the stir crazy threshold, an unmade bed is enough to send my husband into a rage. Pete is the lowest key guy on the planet, but you should see him snap the sheets and yank the quilt into its proper place when he’s been cooped up in the house. I’m the same way. If I’ve been indoors too long, all the sudden, I can’t stand the thought of my shoes being scattered outside the closet and I start hurling them back into order.

A few days ago, I had a big assignment that required me to work from home most of the day. I finished putting my project together around 1 p.m., but some technical problems with the software needed to FTP it to my boss caused me to work an additional four hours to get things sorted out. When all was said and done, I had pretty much sat in the same chair, with the same computer in my lap from 9 a.m. to nearly 5 p.m. I hadn’t eaten, I hadn’t gotten any fresh air, I hadn’t talked to anyone, I had barely stretched and I was seriously bugged. When Pete got home and offered to pick up our dinner, I practically screamed at him to wait for me. I had to get out of the house. I was out of sorts for at least a couple of hours until the fresh air, the people, and the scenery outside my apartment cleared my head.

It may not seem like a big deal, but if you don’t recognize the signs of stir craziness, it could make major waves for you and your significant other.  If you’re cooped up and unreasonable, you are going to pick fights with the person you’re in a relationship with.  When you start tapping your foot and hating your scenery, go take a walk or a drive; don’t scream at your husband for not changing the oil in his car regularly enough. There is almost always an answer for unreasonable irritation, and unfortunately during a summer heat wave, it’s often your own backyard.