Abstinence makes the heart stay longer

A new study has found that those couples who delay having sex stay together for longer and are happier.

The researchers (From Cornell University in the USA)  found that those couples who got to know each other and find out how compatible they were outside of the bedroom were a better long term match.  The study found that “Courtship is a time for exploration and decision-making about the relationship, when partners assess compatibility, make commitments and build on emotional and physical intimacy” and that “rapid entry into sexual relationships may, however, cut short this process, setting the stage for “sliding” rather than “deciding” to enter co-habiting unions”

The study interviewed 600 married and co-habiting couples, and the data showed that women who had waited to have sex were happier and those women who had waited at least six months before having sex were happier in every category than those who waited less than a month, and now had better sex lives.

The link was not as clear for men, but perhaps unsurprisingly those who did wait had fewer rows.

Better2Know suggests that couples who are waiting, but have been sexually active in the past should be open about their sexual past and both have full STD screens.