Females Rate Higher Sexual Satisfaction Based on Quality of Sex, Not Quantity
Published 09/08/2015
Updated: 09/08/2015
It’s time to talk about sex. Are you and your partner having enough of it? You might be surprised to find out that frequency doesn’t even matter. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University recently examined how sex affects our happiness levels. They ultimately found that regular sex isn’t the most important criteria for a happy marriage.
The results of the study were published in the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization. Researchers randomly assigned a sexual schedule to more than 60 married couples. All of the study participants were between 35 and 65 years old. Approximately half of the couples were required to have sex twice as frequently each week. The other couples in the study were allowed to have sex according to their normal schedule. Each participant completed three separate surveys over a period of three months. The questions covered topics such as sexual behavior, perceived happiness, and frequency of sex.
According to the results, when couples had more sex it didn’t necessarily make them any happier. In fact, their happiness decreased over the course of the study. The researchers believe that this effect may have been caused by the experiment itself. When couples had to have sex more frequently, it led to a decline in enjoyment.
George Loewenstein, lead author of the study, is a Professor of Economics and Psychology. He believes that the couples perceived sex differently during the study. It actually became more of a chore for them. To improve the study in the future, the researchers say that they would attempt to get the participants to voluntarily initiate sex more frequently. They would encourage couples to engage in romantic activates without putting them on a specific schedule.
Humans naturally want to have sex for biological purposes. We all have an innate drive to pass along our genes via procreation. According to an article in The Harvard Business Review, women naturally look for men who can provide quality genes. Men look for women who are healthy enough to have multiple children. When our sexual urges kick in, our bodies produce hormones such as oxytocin and vasopressin. These chemicals make us feel good and encourage us to have more sex.
The parameters of the study may have decreased the participants’ natural sexual desire since they felt like they were required to have sex. Most people agree that the best sexual encounters are often spontaneous. Furthermore, sexual satisfaction tends to depend more on quality, not quantity. Participants who aren’t in the mood won’t be able to enjoy sex as much as they normally would.
Tamar Krishnamurti is a research scientist at Carnegie Mellon University. His assertion is that sexual desire decreases much more rapidly than sexual enjoyment after sex has been initiated. Instead of focusing on having more sex, he believes that couples should focus on creating a romantic environment that stimulates biological sexual desire. When sex happens naturally, couples are more likely to enjoy it. Better sex can ultimately lead to increased sexual satisfaction.
Steven Schlosser
Dr. Schlosser graduated from Lafayette College Phi Beta Kappa and attended Georgetown Medical School. He had 4 years of medical residency training at Tufts University in Boston in both Gynecology and Internal Medicine. He has had a spotless medical career for the past 40+ years and is Board Certified.Read more
