For most couples, sex is an important pillar of a relationship. Psychologist Dr. Ian Kerner says, “When couples stop having sex, their relationships becomes vulnerable to anger, detachment, infidelity and, ultimately, divorce.” So obviously, sex is important. But how much sex is considered normal?
There have been statistical studies to determine this. A study conducted by Dr Schnarch among 20,000 couples revealed that less than 26% were having sex at least once a week. The majority of the respondents had sex about once or twice a month. Another study by the university of Chicago among 16,000 respondents shared that the majority of couples had sex about 7 times a month, which is a little less than twice a week.
Hitting the right frequency
The frequency of sex in a married couple depends on a lot of things – natural libido, lifestyle, children, health etc. Most married couple say that they try and have sex at least once a week. However there are those who have tried to experiment with frequencies.
Take this for example –
There have been couples who have tried having sex every single day of the year – even during the woman’s period. Some couples reported that this practice got the couple closer together, made them less stressed in life and they experienced a general increase in their happiness level. Then there were some couples who actually started to despise the act after some time and in turn they became more irritable and started becoming a little distant too.
Almost every couple has complained of a drop in frequency of sex after childbirth. This is possibly because of the increase in responsibilities. This is even worse with working couples, as they have to share the responsibility of a baby, along with the pressures of work.
Is there one right frequency?
It’s widely agreed that any relationship with less than 10 times of having sex in a year is considered a sexless relationship. Above and beyond this, it’s completely up to the couple. Some may be more frequent than others, but as long as the couple is happy and experiences a high quality of physical and mental intimacy, most psychologists agree that it is normal.
