Research has shown that people are generally in a better mood after having sex. thanks to a flood of endorphins and other feel-good hormones for it. But how long do those post-sex feelings last?
A new study suggests that the positive effects of having sex last up to two days, and those good vibes also help couples bond. over time.
Lead researcher Andrea Meltzer and her team from Florida State University examined data from two independent longitudinal studies, one with 96 newlywed couples and the other with 118 newlywed couples. All couples had completed at least three consecutive days of a 14-day sexual diary.
Each night before falling asleep, couples were asked to report whether they had had sexual intercourse that day. They were also asked to note how satisfied they were with three things: their sex life, their partner, and their relationship in general.
On average, the participants had sex four days before. Out of 14. Unsurprisingly, sex on a given day was linked to feelings of sexual and relationship satisfaction, but what's interesting is that the glow effect lasted up to 48 hours later. And those who suffered the blaze for that amount of time were also happy with their relationships months later.
"People with a stronger sexual glow, that is, people who report a higher level of sexual satisfaction 48 hours after sex: report higher levels of satisfaction in the relationship several months later," Meltzer said of the study, which was published this month in Psychological Science a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
In an interview with The Huffington Post, Meltzer said that what surprised her most about the findings was how well the mental benefits of sex synchronized with human biology.
“Forty-eight hours is roughly the same amount of time that (a) conception is maximized, (b) sperm concentrations are needed to restore to peak levels, and (c) sperm remain maximally viable in the female reproductive tract. ", He said. "It's really interesting that the persistent cognitive implications of sex, like sexual radiance, for example, last the same amount of time as the biological implications of sex."
Meltzer said that newlyweds were single for the study because they have sex more frequently than long-term partners, a requirement for the research.
"Our theory was based on reproduction," Meltzer told HuffPost. "Since newlyweds are often young and of reproductive age, they were an ideal sample to test our predictions."
In summary? Sex plays an important role in relationship satisfaction and bonding, even if you don't have sex every day of the week.
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