 |
| Finding time for sex after kids are in the picture. Photo: Getty |
Rachel Clun
Life & Style reporter
A recent Reddit thread asked married people how frequently they had sex, and their answers ranged anywhere from every day for couples who had been together for 30 years, to once every two to three months for others.
Given the huge differences in answers, it’s impossible to tell what is normal and what is not.
Psychologist and founder of The Hart Centre Julie Hart says, that for couples with mismatched libidos, understanding what a ‘normal’ amount of sex is can be helpful.
“What’s considered in the normal range is often a question mark for people,” says Hart.
“I’ve certainly had people in my counselling practice who think that once every three months is normal, particularly when you’ve got children,” says Hart, “and their partner is just horrified at the thought of only being able to make love once every three months.”
Hart says research has shown couples with the healthiest – and happiest – sex lives have sex once or twice a week.
“If you leave it too long between having sex and making love, you tend to get out of the mode; you sort of forget,” says Hart.
She says it can be hard to remember what you used to like and also difficult to get back into the habit of having regular sex, so lovemaking becomes less and less frequent.
So what is it that prevents couples from having sex more regularly?
Children, says Hart, can unfortunately be a major factor.
“The research has shown that for about 70 per cent of all couples their sex life goes down at the birth of their first child, and it doesn’t really go up again until their last child leaves home,” says Hart.
Babies will keep you awake, while younger children are physically demanding – and the tiredness from having young children will impact your sex drive. While teens have more autonomy, says Hart, they are often quite stressful to raise, and in combination with younger kids they can also leave parents feeling exhausted. Read More
Life & Style reporter
A recent Reddit thread asked married people how frequently they had sex, and their answers ranged anywhere from every day for couples who had been together for 30 years, to once every two to three months for others.
Given the huge differences in answers, it’s impossible to tell what is normal and what is not.
Psychologist and founder of The Hart Centre Julie Hart says, that for couples with mismatched libidos, understanding what a ‘normal’ amount of sex is can be helpful.
“What’s considered in the normal range is often a question mark for people,” says Hart.
“I’ve certainly had people in my counselling practice who think that once every three months is normal, particularly when you’ve got children,” says Hart, “and their partner is just horrified at the thought of only being able to make love once every three months.”
Hart says research has shown couples with the healthiest – and happiest – sex lives have sex once or twice a week.
“If you leave it too long between having sex and making love, you tend to get out of the mode; you sort of forget,” says Hart.
She says it can be hard to remember what you used to like and also difficult to get back into the habit of having regular sex, so lovemaking becomes less and less frequent.
So what is it that prevents couples from having sex more regularly?
Children, says Hart, can unfortunately be a major factor.
“The research has shown that for about 70 per cent of all couples their sex life goes down at the birth of their first child, and it doesn’t really go up again until their last child leaves home,” says Hart.
Babies will keep you awake, while younger children are physically demanding – and the tiredness from having young children will impact your sex drive. While teens have more autonomy, says Hart, they are often quite stressful to raise, and in combination with younger kids they can also leave parents feeling exhausted. Read More
No comments:
Post a Comment