More sex means better health
Sex and health go hand in hand. Research shows that regular
leads to a slimmer waistline, a stronger heart and a lower risk for prostate
and breast cancers. Since sex is associated with lower rates of depression and
better mood, it’s a blessing for mental health too.
According to a just-released study appearing
in Archives of Sexual Behavior,
which assesses the sex
habits of American people from 2010 to 2014, the average adult had sex nine
fewer times per year than adults did from 2000 to 2004. That’s a startling fact but the drop in frequency was even steeper for married
couples who live together; they had sex 16 fewer times a year. Whoa!
What’s going on? “We can only
speculate,” says the study’s first author, Jean Twenge, a professor of
psychology at San Diego State University and author of Generation
Me.
“But the increase in time spent working
and parenting may be possible explanations for the drop in sex among married
people,” she says.
Also the rise in quality and
accessibility of streaming entertainment, competition for free time is stiffer.
“There are now so many other ways to spend leisure time at home,” she says. The
allure of Netflix and
other device-based diversions may be pushing sex aside.
But there are more facts to consider- the
average adult enjoys sex 54 times a year, or a little more than once a week,
Twenge's data show.
While married couples under the same roof don’t
fool around quite as much, they still have sex about 51 times each year.
That’s a good thing, because having sex once a week may
be “optimal” if you’re hoping to maximize happiness, says Amy Muise, an
assistant professor of psychology at York University in Canada who conducted a
study.
Muise and her study team found that couples who have a
lot of sex tend to experience better wellbeing.
“Sex is associated with feeling more satisfied in a sex relationship,” Muise says. But
beyond once a week, the wellbeing benefits of sex seem to level off. That’s not
to say that having sex a few times a week (or more) is a bad thing. It just
doesn’t seem to make couples any happier, she says.
