March 10, HealthDay โCouples who regularly have sex tend to be happier, and now a new study suggests one reason why: affection. The study of couples in committed relationships found what many others had shown before: Couples who had sex more often were typically happier and more content with their lives. However, much of that link seemed to be explained not by sex itself, but by couples' general levels of affectionโwhether that meant cuddling or whispering sweet-nothings to each other.
It all suggests that the "relational aspects of sexualityโand more specifically, the sharing of affectionโare central in understanding why sex does good," said lead researcher Anik Debrot. That might be good news for people who worry about things like sexual performance or having a "perfect body," according to Debrot. Instead, they could "remember that sex is a great way to share an intimate and affectionate moment with your partner," said Debrot, a research fellow at the University of Lausanne's Institute of Psychology, in Switzerland.
The findings are based on four studies of couples in the United States and Switzerland. In each, couples were asked how often they had sex, and how often they shared affectionate "moments" or "touches. Overall, the studies found, couples who were more sexually active tended to report greater satisfaction with life.
They also had more "positive emotions"โboth in general, and the morning after having sex. So does that mean sex, by encouraging affection, helps breed happiness? Or do happy people have sex more often? One of the studies suggests it may be the former: Debrot's team found that sex predicted positive emotions the next dayโwhereas good feelings did not boost couples' likelihood of having sex over the next 24 hours. She's an associate professor of family relations and human sexuality at the University of Guelph, in Ontario, Canada.
Milhausen, who wasn't involved in the research, said it "sheds light on how sex and life satisfaction are intertwined. So while past studies have linked the frequency of sex to couples' contentment, it's actually more complicated than that, according to Milhausen. Affection, including post-sex affection, is important. Milhausen also pointed to a particularly interesting finding: Affection mattered to both women and menโin contrast to the stereotype that men can do without the cuddling and sweet words.
