Study says things cool down when couples decide to shut their mouths and reflect a bit.

A five-second pause is just as effective as 10 or 15 seconds in managing lower-level conflicts and preventing escalation, according to a study published in the journal Nature.

Psychologists at the University of St Andrews, UK, have found that couples engaged in an argument should take a five-second break to prevent escalation, because pausing during a disagreement can act as a firebreak, preventing the argument from intensifying and potentially reducing the need for costly counseling.

"It sounds obvious, but this is the first time anyone has experimentally demonstrated a reduction in aggression following enforced breaks. Forcing couples to have a five-second break was just as effective as a 10- or 15-second break, showing that even the briefest of pauses can help defuse an argument," said Annah McCurry, a PhD candidate at the university’s school of psychology and neuroscience who led the experiments with her supervisors Dr. Robert May and Prof. David Donaldson.

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"This is a simple, free, and effective hack to reduce negative emotions during arguments.

It’s cheaper than couples’ therapy and can be easily integrated into everyday interactions," she specified.

To measure the impact of the enforced break, the researchers engineered conflict by engaging 81 couples of various backgrounds and ages in the United Kingdom in a competitive game where they could blast an unpleasant noise at their partner at a volume of their choosing. The couples participated in 30 rounds of the game, with breaks enforced at different intervals.

Advanced AI and machine learning were used to analyze the emotional responses, captured by a 360-degree camera with onboard audio. McCurry and her colleagues found that couples tended to match each other's level of aggression, even at high levels. However, enforcing a short break disrupted this pattern of retaliation, leading to lower overall aggression.

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The strategy is intended for managing lower-level conflicts and preventing their escalation into more serious fights caused by negative emotional arousal and poor emotion regulation ability.

However, this approach does not apply to domestic violence scenarios. It’s more about managing the mundane, everyday arguments that couples have and that can escalate, the researchers observed.

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