More adult Americans are hitting the sack less than they used to, findings of a new study suggest. So what?
This may seem strange and unlikely at a time when millennials are perceived to be more sexually conspicuous compared with those in the older generation who were born in the 1960s and 1970s.
The study, published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior on March 7, has staggering statistics — a 17 percent drop in sexual activity among American adults over a 12-year period.
Younger Generation Having Less Sex
With a sample size of 26,000 adults, the study shows that the younger generation of Americans born in the 1980s and 1990s engaged less in sexual activity than their older counterpart at the same age.
After comparing data of sexual activity from early 2000 leading to 2010, researchers found that American adults hit the sack with an average of nine times fewer. The figure is even lesser among married and partnered adults with an average of 16 times fewer over the same period.
The study identified two major reasons for the decrease.
"Fewer people have steady partners (and) the people who do have steady partners are having sex less often," study author Jean Twenge, a psychology professor at San Diego State University, said.
Does Sex Really Matter?
The frequency of sex is likely not the central issue but how it affects a person's life.
According to another study, published in the Journal of Management, having sex with your spouse to cap the day enhances your performance at work the following day.
"We focus on one common but heretofore overlooked home-life behavior with potential mood-enhancing implications that may spill over to the workplace," the authors of the study said.
The 159 married couples of diverse work background were included in the study. They were asked every morning how many times they had sex the previous night and how satisfying it was for them.
The authors revealed that those who engaged in sex in between their end of shift and when they report to work again appeared to be in their positive moods at work.
The findings point to an important factor, which had often been overlooked, that employees are more productive if they are helped to live a good degree of balance between work and family life.
Statistics are not as cold as the weaning interest for intimate moments between married couples and partnered American adults. The numbers are just reminding us to strike a good work-life balance and have a productive and happy life.
