Does having a lot of sex make couples happier?
Having a lot of sex is not synonymous with a well-matched couple.
Having an active sex life promotes happiness and well-being in the couple.But how many times a week do you have to make love to have a beneficial effect on your relationship? A recent study suggests that increasing the frequency of sex as a couple has a positive effect... but only up to a limit.
Therefore, to maintain stability in the couple it is not necessary to have sex every day, that is, sex is important but more is not always better.
You are not happier for having more sex
Many agree that a happier couple is one that is more passionate and has sex several times a week, but past research had not yet concluded the amount of sex that was necessary to have a more satisfying couple relationship.
How much sex is necessary to be happy? The more sex you have, the happier you are as a couple? This is what a group of researchers from the University of Toronto Mississauga in Canada asked themselves, and to try to test whether these hypotheses were correct, they used a sample of 30,000 people.
The researchers analyzed data from three studies
To extract the results, the researchers analyzed data from three studies.
In the first, the researchers analyzed data from a survey conducted in the United States, which was answered every year from 1989 to 2012 by subjects aged between 18 and 89 years. The participants answered questions such as how often they made love per week (from one to four) or their perception of happiness.
In the second study, the researchers conducted an online survey answered by 335 people, mostly heterosexuals. Finally, they analyzed the results of a third study that lasted 14 years, they analyzed the results of a third study that lasted 14 years, also conductedalso conducted by U.S. couples.
The results of the study and its conclusions
Following the results of the study, the researchers concluded that for the partners, sexual practice increases its benefits up to one session per week.. After that, happiness stops increasing.
The new research has been published in The Journal Social Psychological and Personality Scienceand Amy Muise, the director of the research, explains to the Huffington Post magazine that: "In general it is important to maintain the sexual connection with the romantic partner, but it is important to have realistic expectations about sex life, taking into account that many couples are busy with work and responsibilities".
In addition, Muise concludes that "for couples with busy schedules, work responsibilities and children to care for, the pressure to have sex as often as possible can be stressful". The expert, who has extensive experience in sexuality research, also states: "Sex is good, but more sex is not better. Our research suggests that couples don't need to have sex many times a week, instead they should work on other aspects of the relationship to maintain the connection with their partner".
Sex is more important than money
Respondents also made it clear that sex was one of the top priorities in the relationship even ahead of money.. Thus, sex is associated with happiness more than money, as in the second study of the three conducted, subjects were asked about their annual salary.
Regarding the degree of couple happiness, for those relationships that had sex less than once a week, compared to those who made love once a week, there was a larger difference in the comparison than between couples who were paid between $15,000 and $25,000 and those who were paid between $50,000 and $75,000 a year.
Finally, it is important to note that there were no significant differences between age, gender, or length of the couple's relationship.. Nor did the research test whether there was a cause-effect relationship between the frequency of sexual relations in the couple and satisfaction in the relationship, but simply that there was a correlation between the two variables.
(Updated at Apr 13 / 2024)