By ALBERT STUMM After 13 years of marriage, Bethany Meola acknowledges she and her husband can get mired in the midlife chaos that comes with navigating careers and raising three children. That’s why the six-second kiss felt so good. A daily intimacy exercise pioneered by couples therapists and clinical psychologists John and Julie Gottman, the six-second kiss is what it sounds like — taking a few moments out of each day to connect physically with your partner. “It’s kind of a funny thing to put on the to-do list,” said Meola, who first learned of the Gottmans’ work while studying for a theology master’s degree focused on marriage and family. Even when it felt a little silly, it made a difference. “It’s long enough to kind of ground you and say, ‘Here’s this other person that I love that I’ve committed to,’ and you’re resting in their presence in kind of a renewed way,” said Meola, co-founder of the nonprofit Life-Giving Wounds in Bowie, Maryland, which aims to help adult children of divorced or separated couples. Why does six seconds matter? Six seconds is not an arbitrary number, John Gottman said during a joint video interview with his wife and collaborator.