Cape Argus

Couples happy having sex only once a week

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WHEN it comes to sex, more is not necessaril­y better. For couples are happiest when they make love once a week, a study has found.

More often than this does not increase feelings of well-being, the research showed, contradict­ing popular advice that couples can “kick-start their marriage” by having sex every day.

There was a bigger difference in happiness levels between people having sex once a week and those making love less than once a month than there was between those with higher and lower incomes.

Scientists analysed data collected at three time points over 14 years from more than 2 400 married couples in the US.

Couples reported increasing satisfacti­on with their relationsh­ips as they increased the number of times they made love up to once a week – which coincident­ally was the average amount married couples have sex.

One possibilit­y is that couples are happy if they have the amount of sex that is considered the average amount – and feel upset if they have any less, the researcher­s found.

The researcher­s also speculate that once a week was the average amount because any more doesn’t make you happier.

Lead researcher Dr Amy Muise, of the University of Toronto-Mississaug­a, Canada, said: “Although more frequent sex is associated with greater happiness, this link was no longer significan­t at a frequency of more than once a week.

“Our findings suggest that it’s important to maintain an intimate connection with your partner, but you don’t need to have sex every day as long as you’re maintainin­g that connection.”

The study did not establish whether having sex made couples happier or whether being in a happy relationsh­ip led to more lovemaking. – Daily Mail

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