Study: This is How Many Times a Week You Should Have Sex For a Happy Marriage


iStock.com/Kali Nine LLC

iStock.com/Kali Nine LLC

What goes on behind closed (bedroom) doors at your house is nobody’s business but your own, but we thought you’d like to be clued in to some interesting data linking your sex life to how happy you might find yourself in your impending marital union.

A recent study compared how often couples have sex with their reported levels of happiness and satisfaction in their relationships, and the resulting information—mainly the fact that more frequent sex does not necessarily increase happiness—may surprise you.

Here’s what they found: Among married people or those in committed relationships, more frequent sex leads to increased levels of happiness and well-being. The catch: those positive feelings level off at a magic number of once-per-week; the study participants who got busy four or more times per week weren’t any happier than those who only did it once.

“I do think couples can end up feeling pressure to try to engage in sex as frequently as possible,” said Amy Muise, a postdoctoral researcher studying sexual relationships at Dalhousie University in Canada. Once a week “is maybe a more realistic goal to set than thinking you have to have sex everyday and that feels overwhelming and you avoid it,” said Muise, who is lead author of the study, which was published in November in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science.
The researchers are quick to note that, at the end of the day, each couple must find what works best for them; for some, once a week may be too much while for others it’s too little. Again, it’s your bedroom, so whether or not you want to schedule sexy time with your S.O. (there’s more about that here) is completely up to you.
 

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