Most of the time, you get a gut feeling right before the demise of a relationship.

But sometimes breakups come out of the blue, or at least faster than expected.

There's no sure way to ever know if your relationship will last, but researchers at USC have created a computer algorithm that can analyze certain aspects of what a couple says and does and determine the healthiness of a relationship. Shrikanth Narayanan, one of the lead researchers on the project, has also determined other factors he's found that can hint at whether or not a relationship is doomed to fail using different computer algorithms.

Here's what he found:

SEE ALSO: Facebook is going to completely 'reinvent' its inbox

Couples whose movements aren't in synch may be falling out of synch.

If you and your significant other have similar movements when you're together, then that's a sign of a healthy relationship.

"A more positive interaction will show increased coordination (also often called behavior synchrony or entrainment) and vice versa," Narayanan, a USC professor of computer science, linguistics, and psychology, told Tech Insider.

"So a friendly interaction would show more coordination than one with conflict," he said.

How you and your partner move your heads while talking can speak to your relationship's health.

"How people move their heads together tells us something about the richness of their interactions," Narayanan said in an interview with Tech Insider.

A study Narayanan was a coauthor of found that "the more animated the couple, the more likely they are to exhibit similar motion events."

The study looked at how wives and husbands moved their heads when one was discussing an issue in therapy.

The researchers assigned four codes that measured the emotional component of the relationship: acceptance, blame, positive, and negative. It found that similar head movements between couples were correlated with healthier relationship codes, like positive and acceptance.

Couples in positive relationships tend to speak similarly.

Turns out that there's some merit to the idea that people who jibe well together tend to speak similarly.

Couples exhibiting positive interactions tend to speak with the same intonation and rhythm, according to another USC study.

"When applied to married couple interactions, it was shown that interactions rated by experts to be more positive had greater similarity than ones rated to be negative," Narayanan, an author on the study, said.

Your good sense of humor won't score you a date — at least not online. 

Dating website eHarmony recently released a list of the most and least "attractive" words to use in a dating profile, and "funny" is no longer one of them. The company's data scientists examined more than 12,000 of the most popular dating profiles on its site to determine which words attract the most potential partners. 

eHarmony found that men in 2016 value intellectual qualities the most, while women appreciate physical merit.

Women who described themselves as "ambitious" in their dating profiles attracted 48% more attention those who did not. Men who used the phrase "physically fit" in their bios attract 96% more attention than those who did not include those words.

eHarmony found that other top keywords for men included spontaneous, affectionate, and outgoing. And "attractive" keywords in women's profiles related to creativity, work ethic, and their "sweet" side. 

What other words will get you noticed?

The 10 most attractive words to put in your dating profile, for men:

1. Physically fit (+96% more interaction than peers who did not use this phrase)

2. Perceptive (+51%)

3. Spontaneous (+45%)

4. Outgoing (+44%)

5. Optimistic (+39%)

6. Intelligent (+35%)

7. Passionate (+32%)

8. Affectionate (+29%)

9. Articulate (+24%)

10. Ambitious (+23%)

And for women:

1. Ambitious (+48%)

2. Perceptive (+46%)

3. Sweet (+33%)

4. Hard working (+32%)

5. Thoughtful (+28%)

6. Physically fit (+21%)

7. Creative (+19%)

8. Rationale (+19%)

9. Spontaneous (+19%)

10. Energetic (+18%)

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NOW WATCH: Scientists discovered something heartbreaking about this newfound dinosaur

Some people believe that when you find the right person you just know. The rest of us could use a little help figuring out how to choose the right spouse.

You can actually optimize your chances of marrying the best person using the solution to the famous Secretary Problem. This problem has many applications (including how to choose the best secretary), but this one is the most fun.

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Kim Kardashian recently called Kanye West her "soul mate."

Roll your eyes all you want, but it seems the couple are actually a pretty good match.

"All my friends and my sisters say, 'You guys are so perfect for each other. There’s no one that would want to sit in your closet for hours with you and try on clothes," Kardashian told GQ in a new cover story.

Kim really doesn't do anything that gets on Kanye's nerves.

When GQ's Caity Weaver asked Kardashian what she does that annoys West, the 35-year-old reality star was at a loss, so she called her husband to find out the answer.

"'Hey babe," Kardashian said once West picked up the phone. "I’m doing an interview, and I just want to know what I do to drive you crazy. Because I can’t think of anything that I could possibly do that drives you crazy."

West, too, was stumped. After a long pause, he finally came up with something. "Sometimes a designer will e-mail Kim a sketch of an ensemble and Kanye will request to see it; on occasion Kim forgets to forward the e-mail, so Kanye must ask again and again. According to Kim and Kanye, this is the only thing Kim does that drives Kanye crazy," Weaver wrote.

The interviewer also mused: "Kanye might be the artistic genius in the family, but Kim is the CEO."

The dynamic seems to work for the duo.

 On West's recent 39th birthday, Kardashian Instagrammed a photo of the pair with the caption: "Happy birthday to my best friend! I usually would be scared for us getting older but as each year passes I'm just happy we have more time on this earth together! I love you so much and hope this year brings you so much happiness."

Even Kardashian's family seem to approve of the union.

In honor of the couple's anniversary, sister Khloe posted on Instagram: "I've never seen either one of you filled with such ease and peace as I have since when you became husband and wife! That's when you know you have found your soul mate. When you are still in love in a chaotic world. Happy anniversary Kimye."

For West's birthday in June, mom Kris posted:"Happy birthday to my son, North and Saint’s daddy and Kim’s soul mate, #KanyeWest. To say you are special is an understatement… you are one of a kind!!!! You inspire, you lead, you’re the most incredible father and a wonderful friend. We are so blessed to have you in our lives!!!"

Sister Kendall wrote on her app for the rapper's birthday:"You constantly inspire me to just be me because you are always so true to yourself. You and Kim are ultimate couple goals! You're the best husband my sister could have. We love you!" 

Kardashian and West got married in a lavish ceremony in Italy in May 2014.

And most importantly for the famous couple — who have two children together — they aren't afraid of a little social media PDA.

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NOW WATCH: An exercise scientist reveals exactly how long you need to work out to get in great shape

Father's Day is this Sunday and many people will be scrambling over the next 48 hours to get something for their dad. Performance psychologist Dr. Jonathan Fader thinks those people are going about it all wrong. 

Fader, author of the new book "Life as Sport: What Top Athletes Can Teach You About How to Win in Life," talked to Business Insider about why buying a conventional Father's Day gift may not be the most genuine gesture you can make to honor your dad.

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Ever notice how moving forward in your career comes down to networking?

Eighty percent of job openings are never publicly advertised, according to a 2013 Wall Street Journal article.

That makes all those business cards you’ve collected and LinkedIn connections you’ve made extremely important.

The tricky part, however, is keeping in touch with your network of former colleagues and clients in a genuine way, so you don’t come off as self-serving or stalkerlike.

Part of it means maintaining some level of regular contact, so you’re never in a position where it’s been years since you’ve connected, and suddenly, in the middle of a job hunt, you have to send a sheepish “Remember me?” email.

The rest is all about reaching out in an appropriate way depending on your relationship with your contact, so you strengthen your connections and can tap them for help when you need it. Let these tips show you how to walk the line between authentic and opportunistic.

SEE ALSO: LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman shares his best management advice

DON'T MISS: The unglamorous summer jobs 21 successful people had before they made it big

1. Reach out on social media

Finally, a legit reason to spend time on Facebook and LinkedIn during the workday: These and other social media sites allow you to get your name in front of old and new connections in an unobtrusive way.

As you scroll through your feed, keep an eye out for profile updates or posts from your connections — announcing a promotion, new company direction or a career milestone. Craft a very short post congratulating them on their achievement, along the lines of, "So excited for you" or "Way to go!" At a loss for words? Just hit the "like" button.

"Cheering on your contacts on social media lets them know you stand behind them," says Dorie Clark, marketing strategy consultant and author of "Stand Out Networking." Yet you’re not asking them for anything in return and there’s no expectation of a reply. They see your name, and that puts you on their radar. You’ll also be noticed by their own contacts, and that recognition can pay off down the road.

2. Calendar regular check-ins

For closer contacts, like a former mentor or key client you’ve worked with many times, don’t wait for them to post something online; some people just don’t participate in social media that way. Instead, take the initiative by sending them an email or message on the regular, say, every 60 days or once per quarter, suggests Clark.

The note doesn’t have to be anything more than, "How’s it going?" or an "I saw this article and thought of you" message with a link to an industry publication. The goal is to check in and get your name on their screen via a friendly, casual MO.

And though it sounds a little impersonal, make it even easier to check in by using an app like Contactually or Refer.com. Both track your contacts and prompt you to reach out based on time intervals you set. Refer.com even drafts the actual text of the message for you, based on the relationship level you have with that person, so you don’t waste time searching for the right words.

3. Plan small get-togethers

Arranging for a face-to-face catch-up with each contact individually is an impractical time suck. The solution: Set up small gatherings for a handful of people who all know each other. This way your crew of former coworkers from a past workplace, for example, can get together for a lunch or happy-hour outing.

The group get-together works for a few reasons. First, it saves everyone time and energy. Second, you avoid the discomfort that sometimes happens when you’re sitting across the table with one contact you haven’t seen in a while…and no longer have much to talk about.

Philosopher and Author of "A Course of Love," Alain de Botton explains why you don't need to reveal everything about yourself to your partner. 

Produced by Grace Raver and Alana Kakoyiannis.

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Jonah Berger, marketing professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and author of "Invisible Influence: The Hidden Forces that Shape Behavior," reveals a psychological trick to get people to be more open to you and what you want.

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Philosopher and author of "A Course of Love," Alain de Botton reveals his thoughts on finding the right person to marry.

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There are plenty of ways to turn people off. Most of them don't require much effort.

All it takes is one look at your social-media activity or a casual in-person introduction to make someone realize they just don't want to spend time with you.

We've rounded up some of the most common social turn-offs online and in person, and how to avoid them. Read on and see which ones you've been guilty of.

SEE ALSO: 14 habits of the most likable people

1. Sharing too many photos on Facebook.

You might be eager to share snapshots of your honeymoon, cousin's graduation, and dog dressed in a Halloween costume, all in the same day. But research has found that posting too many photos on Facebook can hurt your real-life relationships.

"This is because people, other than very close friends and relatives, don't seem to relate well to those who constantly share photos of themselves," lead study author David Houghton, PhD, said in a release.

Specifically, friends don't like it when you've got too many photos of family, and relatives don't like it when you've got too many photos of friends.

As Ben Marder, PhD, another author on the study, put it: "Be cautious when sharing and think how it will be perceived by all the others who may see it. Although sharing is a great way to better relationships, it can also damage them."

2. Having too many, or too few, Facebook friends.

In one study, researchers asked college students to look at fictional Facebook profiles and decide how much they liked the profiles' owners. The study took place in 2008, and the students had about 300 friends each.

Results showed that the "sweet spot" for likability was about 300 friends. Likability ratings were lowest when a profile owner had only about 100 friends, and almost as low when they had more than 300 friends.

As for why 300-plus friends could be a turn-off, the study authors write, "Individuals with too many friends may appear to be focusing too much on Facebook, friending out of desperation rather than popularity."

On the other hand, the researchers acknowledge that if you look at a population where the most common number of Facebook friends is 1,000, the sweet spot for likability could be 1,000.

Keep in mind, though, that one survey found that the average number of Facebook friends among adult users was 338 in 2014.

Interestingly, the study also found that participants weren't consciously aware that they liked people less when they had too many or too few Facebook friends.

3. Disclosing something extremely personal early on in a relationship.

In general, people like each other more after they've traded confidences. Self-disclosure is one of the best ways to make friends as an adult.

But psychologists say that disclosing something too intimate— say, that your sister is having an extramarital affair — while you're still getting to know someone can make you seem insecure and decrease your likability.

The key is to get personal without getting overly personal. As one study led by Susan Sprecher at Illinois State University suggests, simply sharing details about your hobbies and your favorite childhood memories can make you seem warmer and more likable.

Imagine that you're on a first date.

Over a couple of drinks, you cover the usual suspects: favorite foods, dream jobs, where you each grew up.

On the way home, you wonder: Were they into me? They were smiling a lot, so probably. But they also looked at their watch a few times, so probably not.

How frustrating.

Now imagine that the whole time you two were talking, scientists were sitting under the table transcribing the conversation. (It's creepy, but bear with me.)

By the end of the night, those scientists could tell you pretty quickly how likely it is that your date wants to see you again.

It's not magic — it's Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC).

LIWC is a computer program that scientists, including the psychologist James Pennebaker, created in the early 1990s. According to the LIWC website, the program sifts through text looking for patterns that reflect different emotions, thinking styles, and social concerns.

In 2010, Pennebaker and his colleagues analyzed speed-date conversations using LIWC and found they could predict whether the couples wanted to go out again.

The 40 conversations that the researchers analyzed took place during a study on speed dating among heterosexual men and women. Participants went on four-minute dates that researchers recorded.

After the dates, participants filled out surveys about how much they had in common with their partner and, of course, whether they would be interested in seeing their partners again.

Results showed that partners who'd used similar "function words"— connector words such as "the,""this," and "I"— were more interested in seeing each other again.

And that's not because we're attracted to people who are similar to us — the researchers observed this phenomenon even among partners who were pretty different. Rather, the researchers say that when we're romantically interested in someone, we shift our language to match theirs.

What's more, a second study found that heterosexual couples who used similar function words in their IM conversations were more likely to still be together three months later.

Unfortunately, Pennebaker told NPR that, as far as he knows, people can't pick up on patterns in function word use — we need LIWC's help. So don't waste your time scrutinizing your date's use of the word "the."

All you can really do is try to have a good time.

SEE ALSO: What your mindless daily habits reveal about you, according to science

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NOW WATCH: What you should talk about on a first date, according to research

Watch just about any romantic comedy or talk to your haughtiest married friends and you'll see that single life is wrapped in stigma. As the stereotype goes, single people would be much better off if only they got married.

As New York University sociologist Eric Klinenberg writes in his book, "Going Solo," when discussed publicly, the rise of living alone is often presented as an unmitigated social problem and a sign of diminished public life.

But not everybody thinks this way.

In the US, fewer people are getting married, and young Americans are putting off marriage more than ever before.

In 1962, half of 21-year-olds and 90% of 30-year-olds had been married at least once. In 2014, only 8% of 21-year-olds and 55% of 30-year-olds had been married.

According to Bloomberg, single Americans are now the majority.

"For decades social scientists have been worrying that our social connections are fraying, that we've become a society of lonely narcissists,"Klinenberg tells The New York Times. "I'm not convinced."

And neither are a number of researchers. These studies begin to unpack the question of how being single affects your success:

SEE ALSO: 9 scientific ways having a child influences your success

DON'T MISS: 27 scientific ways your childhood affects your success as an adult

Single people tend to be more social

Research suggests that, compared to married people, Americans who have always been single are more likely to support and stay in touch with their family and are more likely to help, encourage, and socialize with friends and neighbors.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Time Use Survey, single Americans spend on average 12 minutes a day staying in touch with other people by calling, emailing, or mailing them. Married people spend on average 7.8 minutes a day keeping in touch.

Klinenberg explains that, despite extraordinary external pressure that can lead to self-doubt, being single doesn't condemn someone to a life of feeling lonely or isolated.

"On the contrary, the evidence suggests that people who live alone compensate by becoming more socially active than those who live with others, and that cities with high numbers of singletons enjoy a thriving public culture," he writes. 

Single people also tend to have more time to themselves

Klinenberg also believes that, in the age of expanding digital media and growing connectedness, being single offers a clear advantage: more restorative solitude.

More alone time helps people discover who they are and what gives their life meaning and purpose, he explains.

"Living alone helps us pursue sacred modern values — individual freedom, personal control, and self-realization — whose significance endures from adolescence to our final days," Klinenberg writes.

Single people tend to spend more time on leisure

Whether conducted in solitude or with other people, singles tend to spend more time on overall leisure activities than married people.

According to the BLS, single people spend on average 5.56 hours a day on overall leisure activities, compared to married people, who spend an average 4.87 hours a day on leisure. 

Broken down even further, single people spend on average about 3 minutes more a day participating in sports, exercise, and recreation than married people, about 16 minutes more a day watching TV, and about 15 minutes more a day playing games and on leisurely computer use.

In 2015, Business Insider published a list of ways to make yourself more attractive.

We learned that walking a dog and playing good music are easy ways to give yourself a boost.

But lately we've been wondering: Aren't there things we're all guilty of doing that can decrease our attractiveness?

The answer is almost definitely yes. What follows is a list of common traits and behaviors that can make it harder to impress the object of your affection.

Read on and find out how you might be sabotaging your own sex appeal.

SEE ALSO: 13 science-backed ways to appear more attractive

Sleep deprivation

We generally look a lot less attractive after skimping on sleep.

In 2010, researchers took photos of people who'd slept for at least eight hours the night before and people who hadn't slept in 31 hours. Other participants rated the people in the photos on different criteria.

Not only were the sleep-deprived people perceived as more tired (obviously), but they were also perceived as less attractive, less healthy, and sadder.

Being mean

Do nice guys really finish last?

For a 2014 Chinese study, researchers had men and women look at photos of other people, all displaying neutral expressions.

Some of those photos were accompanied by the Chinese words for "decent" and honest"; the others were accompanied by the Chinese words for "evil" and "mean"; still others weren't accompanied by any information.

Participants ended up rating people least attractive when they were described as evil and mean.

Contractive body language

If you've heard about the "power pose," you know that expanding your body can make you feel more powerful and confident, while curling inward can make you feel less so.

According to 2016 research, that contractive body language can also make you seem less attractive. In one study, researchers created profiles for men and women on a GPS-based dating app. In one set of profiles, the men and women were pictured in contractive positions — for example, by crossing their arms or hunching their shoulders.

In the other set of profiles, the same men and women were pictured in expansive positions, like holding their arms upward in a "V" or reaching out to grab something.

Results showed that people in expansive postures were selected more often than those in contractive postures. And men pictured in contractive postures seemed to be at a special disadvantage.

Rooster McConaughey and Butch Gilliam carved their fortunes from nothing.

Today, the self-made multimillionaires are passing on their wisdom by investing in ambitious entrepreneurs on their show, "West Texas Investor's Club." It's similar to Shark Tank, with some beers mixed in.

If you ask them about their most valuable possession, however, they won't name something that came with a hefty price tag ... or a price tag at all.

"When you look back, and one day you're going to be looking back, it shouldn't be the amount of money that you made that should be your most valuable possession," Gilliam tells Business Insider. "It should be those relationships with your friends, your customers, and your family. That's the gold of it all."

"That's the riches right there," McConaughey chimes in. "And, who wants to do it by themselves anyways?"

Besides being in good company, developing strong relationships could consequently boost your net worth. As author Thomas C. Corley found in his five-year study of the rich, "relationships are critical to financial success."

Rich people take the time to build relationships with other success-minded people, and they realize that the little things — such as a five-minute phone call— add up. According to Corley's research, 80% of wealthy people make birthday calls, hello calls, and life event calls, compared to 11%, 26%, and 3% of poor people, respectively.

Will calling your friends make you rich? Certainly not. But it can't hurt. Plus, as McConaughey says, "What good is anything if you're not surrounded by good people?"

Check out Rooster and Butch on West Texas Investors Club Tuesdays at 10 PM ET/PT on CNBC.

SEE ALSO: 13 habits of self-made millionaires, from a man who spent 5 years studying rich people

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NOW WATCH: This all-black superyacht is the dream of billionaires around the world

Chris Pratt and Anna Faris celebrated their 7-year anniversary this week.

In Hollywood years, it's a lifetime, but the couple still act like newlyweds.

Not only do they ham it up for the red carpet, but they post sweet, revealing photos to Instagram giving fans a glimpse into their fun family life at home.

"Our relationship has made me believe in divine intervention and destiny," Pratt said in a Reddit AMA last year. "She and I grew up 20 minutes away from each other but never met until we met in LA. We both got our start in horror spoofs... We both have parents that have suffered with MS. The similarities go on and on."

Chris Pratt, 37, and Anna Faris, 39, are adorable.

The couple met in 2007 while filming "Take Me Home Tonight," in which they played love interests, but they're originally from neighboring towns in Washington.

By late 2008, the couple were engaged.

A new study has found that women who express this trait are found to be more attractive by the opposite sex.

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Caring about what other people think of you is part of being a normal human being.

In fact, scientists in one study found that the reward center in people's brains was active when they were told that someone approved their taste in music.

It's only a problem when you're consumed by worries about your reputation — when every decision about what to wear, who to hang out with, and even what career to pursue are based on the fear of looking stupid.

Unfortunately, this habit is hard to shake. To help you out, we consulted the Quora thread, "How can I stop worrying about what other people think?" and highlighted the most compelling responses.

Read on to embrace the full experience of being yourself.

SEE ALSO: 7 ways to stop over-thinking everything in your life

1. Remember that people aren't that interested in you

Several Quora users mentioned that people generally don't care about you as much as you think they do.

Sibell Loitz, for example, prompts readers to consider how much time they spend thinking about others and their behavior: "not that much time."

Psychologists call the tendency to overestimate how much other people pay attention to you the "spotlight effect." In a 2000 study, highlighted on Tech Insider, people were asked to attend a party wearing a t-shirt with a picture of Barry Manilow on it (it was supposed to be embarrassing).

Sure enough, those people significantly overestimated how much the other people at the party noticed their t-shirt.

2. Tell yourself a different story

No one can make you think or feel a certain way — it's all about the way you interpret their behavior. So by changing that interpretation, you might be able to make yourself think and feel more positively.

Karen Renee gives an example. Maybe you habitually tell yourself: "Today I [action] and everyone laughed. They must think I'm stupid. I'm stupid. Everyone knows I'm stupid. I can't face them again!"

Instead, Renee says you might tell yourself: "Today I [action] and everyone laughed. I think I cheered up a couple people who were having a bad day, even if it was by accident …"

Renee cites Brene Brown's research on getting over shame, and worrying what other people think of you. Brown recently told Tech Insider that her No. 1 "life hack” for lasting relationships is to recognize that your perception of your partner's behavior is "the story I'm making up."

"Basically," she said, "you're telling the other person your reading of the situation — and simultaneously admitting that you know it can't be 100% accurate."

3. Meet more people

Marie Stein recommends diluting someone's strong negative opinion of you by getting lots of other perspectives.

"The more people you meet, the more you will realize that every one has a different opinion," she writes. "The only opinion about you that matters, that sticks with you for your whole life, and that you can control, is your own."

Scores of psychological studies suggest that, for guys, attractiveness isn't just about the way you look.

From being a talented musician to walking a dog, there are plenty of traits and behaviors that can amp up your sex appeal to women — especially if you're looking to land a long-term relationship.

A growing body of research on romantic attraction has focused on the importance of altruism: Men who display helping behaviors are generally perceived as more attractive than those who don't.

In a 2013 study on the topic, researchers had young, heterosexual men and women rate pictures of other men and women on how attractive they would be for short- and long-term relationships.

Some of the people pictured were said to engage in altruistic behaviors, such as volunteering at a homeless shelter. Other people pictured were described in neutral ways, such as "loves Chinese food."

Both men and women rated the altruistic people as more attractive for long-term relationships — but women showed a stronger preference for altruism than men did.

More recent research suggests that altruism could be even more appealing than good looks.

In a study published this year, researchers looked exclusively at heterosexual women's preferences for attractiveness and altruism in men.

About 200 women were asked to look at photographs of men's faces. Half those faces had been determined to be extremely physically attractive; the other half had been determined to be extremely physically unattractive.

The women saw two pairs of faces at a time, one attractive and one unattractive.

Each pair of faces was displayed alongside a description of a scenario and how each man behaved. For example: "two people are walking through a busy town and see a homeless person sitting near a cafe." One man goes into the cafe and buys a sandwich and tea for the homeless person; the other man pretends to use his cellphone and walks straight past the homeless person.

All the women were asked to rate each man on how attractive he was for a short- or long-term relationship.

The researchers walked away with several key findings.

First, as previous research had found, altruistic men were more attractive than nonaltruistic men.

Second, altruistic men were more attractive for long-term than short-term relationships. When it came to short-term relationships, nonaltruistic men were in fact more desirable than altruistic men.

Perhaps the most striking finding was that altruism appeared to be even more appealing than physical attractiveness when it came to long-term relationships. Unattractive men high in altruism were rated more attractive for long-term relationships than attractive men low in altruism.

It's hard to say whether these study findings apply to real-life interactions. But they do suggest that, if you're a man looking for a committed relationship with a woman, you shouldn't hesitate to flaunt the fact that you're an unpaid mentor for elementary-school kids or that you help your elderly neighbor buy groceries every week.

It could be an easy way to gain an edge over the more self-oriented guys out there.

SEE ALSO: 13 science-backed ways to appear more attractive

DON'T MISS: The best body language to use in your online-dating profile, according to science

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NOW WATCH: Women are more attracted to men with these physical traits

If you're like the majority of Americans, you're single. And contrary to what 90s rom-coms would have you believe, this doesn't necessarily mean you're a lonely narcissist — in fact, your single status can actually be a great thing.

As a single person, you're more likely to be social, enjoy some restorative alone time, spend time on leisure, and reap some health rewards, among other things.

There is, however, a "but" coming.

Some research shows that, as with most things, there is a downside to being single.

Here are five ways being single can harm your success:

SEE ALSO: 7 ways being single makes you more successful

DON'T MISS: 9 scientific ways having a child influences your success

Single people could be missing out on some happiness

A recent study on marital satisfaction released by the National Bureau of Economic Research and previously reported on by Business Insider suggests that the happiest people are those who are married to their best friends. And, controlling for pre-marital happiness, the study concluded that, overall, marriage leads to increased well-being.

The authors concluded that partners can provide each other with a unique kind of social support and help each other overcome some of life's biggest challenges.

Being single results in a pay penalty for men

A recent study conducted by W. Bradford Wilcox, director of the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia, and Robert Lerman, an economics professor at American University, suggests that men see smaller salaries when they're single compared to their married counterparts.

According to the study results, single men between 28 and 30 years old earn around $15,900 less per year in individual income compared to their married counterparts, while single men between 44 and 46 years old make $18,800 less than married men of the same ages.

Single people pay some monetary penalties

According to two Atlantic writers who crunched some numbers, single women can pay as much as $1 million more than their married counterparts over a lifetime.

The writers looked at the tax penalties and bonuses, as well as living expenses like health spending and housing costs. 

According to the US Department of the Treasury Office of Tax Analysis, more married couples under the age of 65 on average see bonuses than not for filing joint tax returns, something single people can't do.

According to the BLS data the Atlantic writers looked at, single women spent 7.9% of their annual income on their health, compared to couples who spent on average 6.9%.

And when it came to housing, single people tended to pay more: While married couples spent on average 23.9% of their annual income on housing, single men spent 30.3% and single women spent 39.8%. 

By combining resources and splitting costs, married people have the edge on all kinds of day-to-day expenses in addition to rent or mortgage: One cable bill, one utilities bill, and shared groceries can all lead to big savings.

Dr. Bat Sheva Marcus, the clinical director of Maze Women's Sexual health, reveals why successful people tend to have more sex than others.

Produced by Sam Rega

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