Sarah Engels and Pietro Lombardi holding hands at Movie meets Media at Hotel Atlantic in Hamburg, Germany. (Photo : Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)
How often should you be having sex with your partner? Science knows the answer and it all depends on the type of your relationship.
According to the latest study on sexual frequency, researchers have found out that there is no difference in happiness level between people who have sex once a week to those people who do the deed four or more times a week.
However, before you get disappointed or say bad things about the study, the link between the happiness and sexual frequency is only important for those in a relationship. The lead author of the study, Amy Muise told CNN that couples tend to get pressured into having more sex frequently causing both parties to get overwhelmed.
"Once a week is maybe a more realistic goal to set than thinking you have to have sex every day and that feels overwhelming and you avoid it," Muise said.
She also made it clear that their study cannot determine which comes first on relationships, the sex or happiness. There may be couples who only have sex once a week but is happy with their relationship.
On the other hand, there can be partners where sex is the only thing that makes them happy. "Certainly there are couples for whom having sex less frequently will be fine for their happiness, and there are couples who will get increases in happiness if they have sex more than once a week," she added.
As for those couples who rarely have sex or none at all, George Loewenstein of Carnegie Mellon University recommends getting intimate at least once a week. Loewenstein was the lead author of a different study on sexual frequency.
Vanessa Marin, a sex therapist, advises couples to try scheduling sex. She recommends plans like having sex for 20 minutes a day with no gadgets involved like television or phones.
Marin added that the best time to have sex is in the morning when testosterone levels and sexual drive is high. However, most couples can just discuss with each other their preferred date and time to have sex. Just like in all relationships, communication is key.
The video below was not part of the study, but it's fun to know how often people have sex.
