Here’s How Much Sex You Should Have Every Week

Sex and health go hand in hand. Research has linked it to a slimmer waistline, a stronger heart and a lower risk for prostate
and breast cancers. It's also a boon for mental health, since sex is associated with lower rates of depression and better mood.

But Americans today are having less of it than Americans a decade ago, according to a just-released study appearing in Archives of Sexual Behavior.

From 2010 to 2014, the average American adult had sex nine fewer times per year than Americans did from 2000 to 2004, the researchers found. That drop in frequency was even steeper for married couples who live together; they had sex 16 fewer times a year.

性爱与健康关系密切。研究表明性爱与更纤细的腰围、更强壮的心脏、更低风险患前列腺癌或乳腺癌相关联。它还与精神健康相关。但是最近发表的研究表明当今美国人与十年前相比性爱生活更少。

What’s going on? “We can only speculate,” says the study’s first author, Jean Twenge, a professor of psychology at San Diego State University and author of Generation Me. But the increase in time spent working and parenting may be possible explanations for the drop in sex among married people. she says. Plus, with the rise in quality and accessibility of streaming entertainment, competition for free time is stiffer. “There are now so many other ways to spend leisure time at home,” she says. The allure of Netflix and other device-based diversions may be elbowing sex aside.

研究的第一作者，Jean Twenge，认为这是由于当今美国人工作时间更长且费心于子女教育问题。除此之外，流播式娱乐活动的质量和可获取性提高也会花费掉自由时间。她认为「如今在家中有很多其他方式消遣」。如Netflix和其他基于不同设备的娱乐竞争掉了性生活的时间。

That’s a good thing, because having sex once a week may be “optimal” if you’re hoping to maximize happiness, according to research from Amy Muise, an assistant professor of psychology at York University in Canada.

Muise and her study team found that couples who have a lot of sex tend to experience better wellbeing. “Sex is associated with feeling more satisfied in a relationship,” Muise says. But beyond once a week, the wellbeing benefits of sex seem to level off. That’s not to say that having sex a few times a week (or more) is a bad thing. It just doesn’t seem to make couples any happier, she says.

Of course, it’s hard to show cause and effect when it comes to sex and your health. Leading a happy, healthy lifestyle likely leads to more sex; the act itself doesn't necessarily improve your physical and mental wellness. Still, whether sex is a symptom or a cause of wellbeing, a healthy sex life is worth the work.

每周一次的性爱可以获得最佳的效果。但是数量超过每周一次性爱的幸福效应就趋于平稳，这并不是说每周几次的性爱是坏事，只是不能够使夫妻更快乐而已。

当然，现在还很难厘清性爱与健康之间因果关系，它们之间互相促进。但是性爱本身对于提高生理和心理的健康并非必要。不管性爱是身体健康的外在表现还是其原因所在，健康的性生活都是值得的。

（单身狗伤不起啊）