This Is The Amount Of Sex That Makes Couples Happy, According To Science

It may be less than you think.
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If you're worried you and your partner aren't having enough sex it's time to give yourselves a break.

A new study has revealed having sex just once a week boosts happiness levels in a relationship.

Having sex more often than that doesn't hurt, but it also doesn't make a blind bit of difference.

The study, led by researchers at the University of Toronto, found that the wellbeing benefits of sex level off at a frequency of once per week.

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The researchers analysed data from two surveys completed in 1996 and 1998 by more than 25,000 people to draw their conclusions.

Roughly two-thirds of the survey participants were either married or in a long-term romantic relationship.

Although the researchers did find associations between sex and reported happiness levels, they found that, on average, benefits maxed out at sex once each week.

"I do think couples can end up feeling pressure to try to engage in sex as frequently as possible," study lead Amy Muise told CNN.

"Once a week is maybe a more realistic goal to set than thinking you have to have sex everyday and that feels overwhelming and you avoid it."

However, Muise highlighted that once per week is an average - couples enjoying sex more frequently should not cut down on the amount of sex they're having, but do whatever feels right for them.

"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 said.

The study is published in full in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science.

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