Sex Once A Week Makes For A Happy Life (Unless You're Single)

Movies, music, and news reports have all echoed the same sentiments about sex: more sex, more happiness. However, a recent study found couples who have sex every night, despite being too tired, too stressed, and too distracted, are no happier than those who have sex just once a week.
"Our findings suggest that it's important to maintain an intimate connection with your partner, but you don't need to have sex every day as long as you're maintaining that connection," said Amy Muise, lead researcher of the study and a social psychologist and postdoctoral fellow at the University of Toronto-Mississauga, in a press release.
Muise and her colleagues analyzed the results of surveys from more than 30,000 Americans, collected over 40 years in three different projects.
In the first study, researchers analyzed survey responses about sexual frequency and general happiness from more than 25,000 Americans (11,285 men, 14,225 women) who took the General Social Survey from 1989 to 2012. The survey covered a wide range of sociological issues, including opinions about race relations, religion, and sex. The happiness of the survey respondents increased with more frequent sex, but that frequency could be as little as once a week.
To compare happiness and sex frequency with happiness and income, the researchers conducted an online survey with 335 people (138 men, 197 women) who were in long-term relationships. The participants were asked about their annual income, which ranged from $15,000 to $75,000. In this survey, the difference in happiness between couples who had sex less than once a month and those who had it once a week was larger than couples who were making between $15,000 to $25,000 annually, and those making $50,000 and $75,000.
"People often think that more money and more sex equal more happiness, but this is only true up to a point," Muise said.
Lastly, a third study analyzed the survey results collected at three timeframes over 14 years from more than 2,400 married couples in the U.S. The findings revealed there wasn’t a strong link between sexual frequency and overall life satisfaction, but couples did report more satisfaction with their relationships as sex increased up to once a week. Consistent with the other survey results, there were no noticeable benefits of engaging in more sex.
All of these studies conclude more sex does not necessarily mean more happiness. Earlier this year, a recent study also found increasing sex frequency is not equated with a rise in happiness levels. In the study, researchers asked 32 of 64 married couples to double their rate of sex and respond to short daily surveys about happiness. The participants managed to have more sex, but they were not happier, and often found themselves feeling less energetic and having worse sex. This suggests sex quality matters more than sex frequency.
"It's important to maintain an intimate connection with your partner without putting too much pressure on engaging in sex as frequently as possible," Muise said.
The take-home from this compilation of studies is, the reason why you’re having sex matters more than how often you’re having sex. Having sex because you want to is better than doing so because you feel you have to.
Sources: Muise A et al. Sexual Frequency Predicts Greater Well-Being, But More is Not Always Better. Social Psychological and Personality Science. 2015.
Loewenstein G, Krishnamurti T, Kopsic J et al. Does Increased Sexual Frequency Enhance Happiness? Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization. 2015.

Having Sex 3-4 Times Per Week Can Help With Spontaneous Passage Of Kidney Stones

If you’re familiar with kidney stones, then you know passing one is an incredibly painful experience that everyone should do their best to avoid. A recent study conducted by researchers from the Clinic of Ankara Training and Research Hospital in Ankara, Turkey suggests having sex at least three to four times per week can help with the spontaneous passage of kidney stones.
Researchers from the hospital’s Department of Urology split 75 participants into three groups: one that was asked to have sex at least three to four times per week, a second that was administered tamsulosin, and a third that received the standard medical treatment for kidney stones. Tamsulosin is a drug commonly used to improve urination in men with enlarged prostates.
Two weeks after the start of the study, researchers found that 26 of the 31 participants from the sex group were able to pass their kidney stones. On the other hand, only 10 of the 21 participants from the tamsulosin group and eight of the 23 participants from the standard medical treatment group successfully passed their stones. The average stone expelled by participants was measured at 4.7 millimeters.
A similar study published in Annals of Emergency Medicine compared the effects of tamsulosin versus a placebo for treating both small and big kidney stones. Findings showed that while time seems to be an effective treatment for small kidney stones, doctors should turn to tamsulosin when treating patients with bigger stones.
Although 87 percent of patients treated with tamsulosin and 81.9 percent of those treated with the placebo were able to pass smaller kidney stones, the difference between success rates grew with bigger stones. When it came to stones measuring between five to 10 millimeters in length, 83.3 percent of patients from tamsulosin group successfully passed their stones compared to 61 percent of patients in the placebo group.
"Kidney stones bring more than a million Americans a year to emergency departments because they are excruciatingly painful," said lead study author Jeremy Furyk, MBBS, MPH and TM of The Townsville Hospital in Townsville, Queensland, Australia. "The news on small kidney stones isn't positive, but tamsulosin appears to offer benefit to those unlucky people whose kidney stones are really big."

Having Lots Of Sex As Often As Possible May Actually make infertile couples get pregnant

Looking to get pregnant? According to a new study, having lots of sex as often as possible may up your chances of getting a visit from the Stork. A team of researchers from Indiana University recently found that sexual activity, even during non-fertile periods, triggers physiological changes in the body that can overall increase a woman’s chances of getting pregnant.
Although doctors have long advised couples looking to become pregnant to have sex as often as possible, a new study recently published in both Fertility and Sterility and Physiology and Behavior may have finally revealed why this practice can actually help increase a couple’s chances of conceiving. The study consisted of 30 healthy premenopausal women who were not taking hormonal or immunoactive medications. A total of 14 were sexually active and 16 were not. To investigate the link between sexual activity and fertility, the team took the women’s saliva samples at four time points: menstrual, follicular, ovulatory, and luteal phases.
Results revealed that sexually active women were significantly more likely to express distinctive changes in the immune system’s helper T cells and immunoglobulin during their non-fertile periods. The immune system works to fight off invading pathogens and microbes by activating antibodies. In order to get pregnancy, the female’s body needs to bypass this autoimmune response, and let down its defenses in order to allow the sperm to successfully fertilize an egg. According to the study, the shift in immunity that women experience after having sex may be a direct response to this dilemma.
"This research is the first to show that the sexual activity may cause the body to promote types of immunity that support conception," lead researcher Dr. Tierney Lorenz explained in a recent statement. "It's a new answer to an old riddle: How does sex that doesn't happen during the fertile window still improve fertility?"
According to the press release, there are several types of helper T cells and immunoglobulin in the immune system, and levels of those specifically associated with aiding in pregnancy were seen to have risen in sexually active non-pregnant women. Higher levels of type 2 helper T cells, which help the body accept foreign bodies that may aid in reproduction, such as sperm and developing embryos, were observed in the sexually active non pregnant women. Sexually active women also had higher levels of immunoglobulin G, an immune system cell typically found in the blood which helps to fight disease without interfering with the uterus.
"The sexually active women's immune systems were preparing in advance to the mere possibility of pregnancy," Lorenz said.
Along with helping us to better understand human reproduction, this finding may be especially useful in helping doctors identify the reasoning behind changes in natural blood test results found in women with certain autoimmune disorders. This is not the first new major immune system finding of the year. In June, researchers discovered a “missing link” between the immune system and the brain — a finding that could change the way we study disease. These new studies have added to growing consensus that suggests that the immune system is not just a passive system waiting to be activated by invading pathogens, but actually an interactive network that reacts to external cues.

Many Women Experience Depressive Symptoms Immediately Following Sex

If any of you ladies find yourself feeling down in the dumps after what seemed like a satisfactory night in the boudoir (wink wink), don’t worry. There is a perfectly reasonable explanation. Post-coital dysphoria (PCD), commonly referred to as “post-sex blues,” is a very real occurrence that is finally getting the investigation it deserves. A recent study published in the journal Sexual Medicine shows just how common the post-sex blues are among women.
"The findings build upon our previous research investigating the correlates of sexual functioning in women," lead author Dr. Robert Schweitzer said in a statement. "The results of our original research in this area have now been confirmed in an international multinational study on negative postcoital emotions, which appear to have evolutionary functions."
Schweitzer and his colleagues recruited 230 female college students who were asked to complete an online survey. Participants were asked to report any symptoms of post-coital dysphoria, which includes anxiety, agitation, aggression, tearfulness, or a sense of melancholy or depression immediately following sexual intercourse.
The research team discovered that 46 percent of respondents had experienced symptoms of post-coital dysphoria at least once in their lifetime, while 5.1 percent said they had experienced these symptoms a few times within the past four weeks. They did not, however, uncover any relationship between the post-sex blues and intimacy in a relationship.
Schweitzer’s research team from the Queensland Institute of Technology’s School of Psychology and Counseling conducted a similar study back in 2012. While 32.9 percent of female respondents reported experiencing post-coital blues at some point in their lives, 10 percent said they regularly experience symptoms of depression following sexual intercourse.
"We want to gain a better understanding of women's experience following consensual sex," Schweitzer said. "This study will hopefully help people who experience post-coital dysphoria realize that they are not alone. Once we understand the experience we can start thinking about the role of clinicians in assisting people to understand and to address issues causing concern."
Although this previous study suggests this phenomenon is the result of changes in hormones following a sexual climax, Schweitzer says more studies are needed to understand this highly under-researched subject. Future studies will focus on confidential interviews with women who have experienced post-coital dysphoria.