If you watch the movies, you might think that the more often you have sex, the happier you’ll be. And if you aren’t reaching the income you think you should, you might believe the secret to happiness is more money.
But does either of these assumptions meet the truth?
According to three new studies, it turns out that while more frequent sex is associated with greater happiness, the link isn’t significant when those bedroom activities occur more than once a week.
The research is based on surveys of more than 30,000 Americans collected over four decades. And while previous research claims that more sex equals more happiness, these are the first studies to report otherwise.
In the first study, researchers analyzed more than 25,000 survey responses about sexual frequency and happiness. These responses came from 11,285 men and 14,225 women who took part in the General Social Survey from 1989 to 2012.
Happiness tended to increase with when couples engaged in more frequent sex. However, this didn’t hold true when the couples engaged in sex more than once a week. (This study and other previous studies report that established couples tend to have sex about once a week on average.)
In addition, a few stereotypes were discovered. For example, we always hear that men want more sex than women. There’s also the belief that older people have less sex.
That may not be the case. “Our findings were consistent for men and women, younger and older people, and couples who had been married for a few years or decades,” says lead researcher Amy Muise.
Another study analyzed survey results collected from more than 2,400 married couples in the United States.
In this case, there wasn’t a strong link between sexual frequency and overall life satisfaction. But couples reported more satisfaction with their relationships as sexual frequency increased up to once per week. Once again, there were no noticeable benefits to engaging in sex more often.
The remaining analysis, an online survey of 138 men and 197 women who were in long-term relationships, found similar results to the first study.
However, these participants were also asked about their annual income. And it provided a surprising twist.
The difference between having sex less than once a month and sex once a week had a much bigger effect on happiness than the difference between an having an annual income of $15,000-$25,000 compared to $50,000-$75,000.
“People often think that more money and more sex equal more happiness, but this is only true up to a point,” Muise said.
Does this mean you have to have sex once a week to be happy? Not necessarily. But Muise notes that partners should discuss whether their sexual needs are being met.
“It’s important to maintain an intimate connection with your partner without putting too much pressure on engaging in sex as frequently as possible,” she said.
SOURCE: Couples Who Have Sex Weekly Are Happiest. Press Release. Society for Personality and Social Psychology. Nov 2015.
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