Sex life likely to go soft after a year of a relationship with arguments and domestic disagreement being root causes - study

Participants were asked on several occasions to rank their sex life. The results showed that for most the moment of greatest sex-life satisfaction came a year into a new relationship.

It might come as little surprise to learn that couples find their sex life almost a third less satisfying after 16 years together.

But a new study by researchers at Munich's Ludwig Maximilian University has uncovered something far more startling: sexual satisfaction in relationships peaks at the 12-month mark.




The findings of the research, published in the Archives of Sexual Behaviour, was based on a nationally representative sample of 3000 people aged 25 to 41.

Participants were asked on several occasions to rank their sex life. The results showed that for most the moment of greatest sex-life satisfaction came a year into a new relationship.

The existence of children in a relationship does not appear to have much effect on the perceived quality of sex life.

Instead, the study reported that arguments and domestic disagreements were the root of relationship problems, with many couples admitting that an increase in fighting had corresponded with a decrease in sexual activity.

They suggested that the peak moment registered after one year because new lovers took the time to learn about each other's needs in that period.

The report, entitled "Does Sexual Satisfaction Change With Relationship Duration?", is the latest academic work in a long line of reports that have attempted to rationalise the human libido.