HOW TO HAVE BETTER SEX

GET INTIMATE

‘I recommend couples move away from performance and look at pleasure,’ says Dr Reisman, who suggests thinking of ‘intimacy activities’ you can engage in instead of full sex. Foreplay, yes, but anything that gets you naked together, like a bath, will encourage intimacy. ‘If a couple can engage in activities that bring them closer, and give them both pleasure, then this can be a really nourishing time for a relationship,’ he adds.

TIME IT RIGHT

Scheduling sex: while not the stuff of great clit lit, it could be the thing that puts it back on the menu. If you’re taking medication, Dr Reisman suggests planning to have sex just before you’re due to take your next dose, since having less of the drug in your system could alleviate some of the side effects. But even if you’re not, it’s easy to let sex fall by the wayside. If you don’t want to put it on a to-do list, just having a slot in your head (like Saturday night) can help.

PRIORITISE PLEASURE

‘If you want your sex life to be a priority then you must treat it as such,’ says Dr Karen Gurney, psychosexologist and director of The Havelock Clinic. That doesn’t just mean carving out time for sex, she explains, but taking the time to understand how your sex life works – what will keep it good, if it is, and the obstacles that will stand in your way. ‘This way, you can steer your sex life where you want it to go, rather than being at the mercy of other factors.’

GET COMFORTABLE WITH THE UNCOMFORTABLE

‘Communication around sex is the strongest predictor of long-term sexual satisfaction,’ says Dr Gurney, while acknowledging that talking about sex with someone you’re having it with can be hard. Her advice? Develop a culture within your relationship where you talk about sex in the same way you might talk about where you want to go for dinner, and take cues from life. A sex scene in a film can be a great conversation starter.