09 Oct Have a happier relationship: have more sex
Reading Time: 2 minutesA happy relationship
When things go pear-shaped for couples, the first thing that goes all most all of the time is sex. However, if couples were more content and happier towards each other, then sex would be back on the agenda, which is excellent news for both partners.
So how do you create a happier relationship?
The irony is, have more sex.
Happiness and sex
Couples who had sex at least once a week had 44% more positive feelings towards their partner than those who had sex less often, and those who do have sex every few days are 55% more likely to report higher levels of happiness. These findings are according to a study in the Journal of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science 1 where they found the more sexually satisfied a woman is, the happier her relationship, and other studies show the same is true for men. Well, that would seem to go without saying!
The more sex we have, the closer and happier we feel towards our partner. Feeling closer to our partner is all to do with the magic ingredient, oxytocin. During sex, the brain releases oxytocin, a bonding hormone that makes us feel more bonded to our partner. If we have sex at least once a week, then we are more content and feel happier towards our partner.
In another study 2, which drew on a sample of 16,000 people, found that sex has incredible influence and positive effect on happiness. The findings of the study are explicit: the more sex, the happier the person. Those who didn’t have sex were notably less happy than those of the average person. They also gauged that increasing sexual intercourse from once a month to once a week is equivalent to the amount of happiness generated by contributing an additional $50,000 (around £40,000) in yearly income. The point system the researchers use for happiness shows us that a couple having sex four times a week has a significant effect on their satisfaction, which accounts for half of the impact of their marriage on their happiness. Both women and men in this research derive a great deal of pleasure from sex, and the statistics show only very slight evidence that men enjoy sex more than women.
So a happy marriage is dependent on having a loving sexual connection. Without sex in a relationship, you are just friends who live together. You can be intimate friends, but without sex, our happiness, in general, can take a dip. So keep sex as an essential topic for discussion and have fun finding out what you and your partner can do to enhance your sex life.
Next week I’ll talk more about how to enhance your sex life.
References
- Ziaee, Tayebe et al. (2014). The Relationship between Marital and Sexual Satisfaction among Married Women Employees at Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Iran. Iran J Psychiatry Behav Sci. 2014 Summer; 8(2): 44–51
- Blanchflower, Danny G. and Oswald, Andrew J. (2004). Money, sex and happiness: an empirical study. Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Vol.106 (No.3). pp. 393-415.
Photo by Priscilla Westra
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