12/05/2015
Countless research and self-help books claim that
having more s*x will lead to increased happiness,
based on the common finding that those having
more s*x are also happier. Scientists now report that
simply having more s*x did not make couples
happier, in part because the increased frequency led
to a decline in wanting for and enjoyment of s*x.
In the first study to examine the causal connection
between s*xual frequency and happiness, Carnegie
Mellon University researchers experimentally
assigned some couples to have more s*x than
others, and observed both group’s happiness over a
three month period.
In a paper published in the Journal of Economic
Behaviour & Organisation, they report that simply
having more s*x did not make couples happier, in
part because the increased frequency led to a decline
in wanting for and enjoyment of s*x.
One hundred and twenty eight healthy individuals
between the ages of 35-65 who were in married
male-female couples participated in the research.
The researchers randomly assigned the couples to
one of two groups. The first group received no
instructions on s*xual frequency. The second group
was asked to double their weekly s*xual in*******se
frequency.
The couples instructed to increase s*xual frequency
did have more s*x. However, it did not lead to
increased, but instead to a small decrease, in
happiness. Looking further, the researchers found
that couples instructed to have more s*x reported
lower s*xual desire and a decrease in s*xual
enjoyment. It wasn’t that actually having more s*x led
to decreased wanting and liking for s*x. Instead, it
seemed to be just the fact that they were asked to do
it, rather than initiating on their own.
Explanation
In an explanation, the study’s lead investigator,
George Loewenstein, said: “Perhaps couples
changed the story they told themselves about why
they were having s*x, from an activity voluntarily
engaged in to one that was part of a research study.
If we ran the study again, and could afford to do it,
we would try to encourage subjects into initiating
more s*x in ways that put them in a s*xy frame of
mind, perhaps with baby-sitting, hotel rooms or
Egyptian sheets, rather than directing them to do so.”
Loewenstein, the Herbert A. Simon University
Professor of Economics and Psychology in the
Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences,
continues to believe that most couples have too little
s*x for their own good, and thinks that increasing
s*xual frequency in the right ways can be beneficial.
One of the study’s designers, Tamar Krishnamurti,
suggested that the study’s findings may actually help
couples to improve their s*x lives and their
happiness.
“The desire to have s*x decreases much more quickly
than the enjoyment of s*x once it’s been initiated.
Instead of focusing on increasing s*xual frequency to
the levels they experienced at the beginning of a
relationship, couples may want to work on creating
an environment that sparks their desire and makes
the s*x that they do have even more fun,” said
Krishnamurti, a research scientist in CMU’s
Department of Engineering and Public Policy.
