Sexual Happiness: Not More, Just More Than Others

The question: “how much sex is enough sex?” now has an answer, and it’s “more sex than others get.” Yes, it’s a competition. At least, that’s the conclusion of Tim Wadsworth, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Colorado, whose analysis of national survey data revealed that people reported steadily higher levels of happiness as they reported steadily higher sexual frequency. A U of Colorado news release reports that he also found that even after controlling for their own sexual frequency, people who believed they were having less sex than their peers were unhappier than those who believed they were having as much or more than their peers. And now the numbers: people who reported having sex at least two to three times a month were 33 percent more likely to report a higher level of happiness than those who reported having no sex during the previous 12 months. Compared to those who had no sex in the previous year, those reporting a once-weekly frequency were 44 percent more likely to report a higher level of happiness. Those reporting having sex two to three times a week are 55 percent more likely to report a higher level of happiness.