LIFESTYLE : How much sex is enough for married couples

How much sex is enough? Just once a week is all it
takes for optimal happiness among married
heterosexual couples and those in long-term
relationships, said a US study Wednesday.
The findings are based on surveys of more than
30,000 Americans collected over four decades, and
are published in the journal Social Psychological and
Personality Science.
“Although more frequent sex is associated with
greater happiness, this link was no longer significant
at a frequency of more than once a week,” said lead
researcher Amy Muise, a social psychologist and
postdoctoral fellow at the University of Toronto-
Mississauga.
“Our findings suggest that it’s important to maintain
an intimate connection with your partner, but you
don’t need to have sex everyday as long as you’re
maintaining that connection.”
Researchers noted that the study was not designed
to show cause-and-effect, so it remains unknown
whether happiness leads to weekly sex, or if weekly
sex arouses more joy in life.
The study was also limited to people in romantic
relationships, not single people.
“In fact, there was no association between sexual
frequency and well-being for single people,” said
Muise.
The findings were also consistent across age
groups, gender and the length of the relationship —
whether months or decades.
Muise said couples should discuss whether their
sexual needs are being met, rather than simply
press for more sex.
“It’s important to maintain an intimate connection
with your partner without putting too much pressure
on engaging in sex as frequently as possible,” she
said.