A sex expert has revealed why people are having less sex nowadays.
It has recently been revealed through groundbreaking studies that an increasing amount of people around the world are more happy in relationships when they have regular sex, compared to those who do the deed less frequently.
While a number of factors can play a part in the amount of times you have sex in a week or month, from mental health to work stress, it looks like people today are less intimate than ever.
The amount you should aim for is clearly subjective, and it is always worth talking to your partner about.
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However, psychotherapist and relationship expert Esther Perel thinks that it's a generational issue that needs addressing, and has explained where the issue stems from.
Why are people having less sex?
Perel spoke on the Diary of a CEO podcast with Steven Bartlett, speaking about why less young people than ever are not having sex.
Bartlett pointed out that one in three men under the age of 30 in the US reporting not having sex in the past year, tripling the rate reported in 2008.
40 percent of Japan's young adults also claim to be virgins with many not being interested in sex at all, while married couples back in the west, in the UK and US to be exact, are having progressively less sex year-on-year.
The relationship expert said this trend, specifically with men, was present back in 2006, adding: "In order to have sex with a female partner, you need to be able to approach her, and so social atrophy is directly connected to what is often called the sexual recession."
She referenced one of her books from the 2000s where she has an entire chapter on someone telling her they'd 'rather have the security of an MBA than of a relationship'.
Perel added that while she sees the trends in the US, it isn't consistent 'everywhere in the world', though highlighted that America has 'less and less pair bonding, and less and less romantic relationships that accompany you through your adolescence'.
She highlighted the importance of relationships while growing up, and that when young adults get to the point where they do want to have sex, it's 'like this unknown continent that you have to conquer'.
Warning to those having it less than once a week
A 2024 study issued a warning to couples about the amount of times that they got intimate in a week.
Scientists at the University of Manchester published their findings as part of the paper titled 'The Satisfaction of Women’s Orgasms: The Relationship Between Women’s Orgasmic Pleasure and Sexual Relationship Satisfaction in Aotearoa/New Zealand'.
Part of the September 2024 International Journal of Sexual Health, it found that women having sex every week were 'sexually satisfied' in their relationship, with 85 percent agreeing.
Those that had sex once a month were reported to be 66 percent happy, with just 17 percent reporting satisfaction despite getting between the sheets less frequently than once a month.
How often does the average couple have sex?
A 2020 study revealed that 50.8 to 55.8 percent of heterosexual men in relationships had sex every week, while 52.6 to 57.2 percent of heterosexual women got between the sheets weekly.
Results varied for gay, lesbian, or bisexual men and women, though.
44.7 to 59.2 percent of women in this category said they engaged in sexual activity weekly, while 32.8 to 53.7 percent of men admitted to the same.
The study found that 1.7 percent of men and 1.3 percent of women surveyed, didn't have sex at all, with numbers climbing to 5.2 and 5.5 percent for men and women doing 'it' once or twice a year.
For one to three times a month, 35.4 percent of men and 32.4 percent of women admitted to doing it that often, while 57.7 percent of men and 60.9 percent of women claimed it was a weekly occurrence.
Topics: Community, Health, Sex and Relationships
Joshua Nair