How important is sex to a happy relationship?

‘Does increasing sexual frequency increase happiness?’ The titled study was published in 2015 in the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization. (Representational Image: Shutterstock)

To simplify the issue, there are few studies that have attempted to answer the above question quantitatively.

How much sex is normal in a relationship – is a question that has persisted over the years. Some would say that it is essential that you be intimate with your partners often, while for others, it depends on the social constructs surrounding the idea of ​​a healthy relationship. Too often, people judge their sex lives based on what others think is normal. But evaluating the extent of healthy and normal intimacy is complicated. To simplify the issue, there are few studies that have attempted to answer the above question quantitatively.

The peer-reviewed study, published in 2015 in Social Psychology and Personality Science, was conducted on 30,000 spouses over 40 years. They found that once a week was the ideal amount of sex for couples; Yet, couples who had more sex were neither happier nor less happy. The study found that being intimate with your partner more than once a week does not necessarily mean that your relationship will be happy. Additionally, those having less sex reported a lack of sexual satisfaction. The researchers noted that the study results don’t necessarily mean that partners should have more or less sex to achieve their weekly average, but they suggest that couples should talk about whether their sexual needs are being met. .

Adding value to the above findings, another study published in Archives of Sexual Behavior in 2017 noted that the average adult currently enjoys sex 54 times a year. They also added a caveat that the frequency of having sex with partners was declining among married adults.

However, one question remains unanswered in the above studies – does more sex lead to more happiness in a relationship?

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University experimentally assigned some couples to have more sex than others, and then assessed the happiness of both groups over a three-month period to examine the link between sexual frequency and happiness. Did. ‘Does increasing sexual frequency increase happiness?’ The titled study was published in 2015 in the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization. The report says that just having more sex doesn’t make couples happier. In fact, the desire and enjoyment of being intimate with their partners decreased as the frequency of sex increased.

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