# Sex in relationships #

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.