According to data from a national survey of nearly 30,000 people has found Americans are having less sex than they used.
A new study analyzing 26,000 people has found married couples and millennials are less sexually active than previous generations. In fact, researchers report that people are having sex on average nine times fewer a year in 2010 to 2014 compared with 1995 to 1999.
The study was published in the Archives of Sexual Behaviour, and researchers suggest that part of the decline in sex is due to the fact fewer young people are in a relationship. As a result, they are having sex on average less often than people in relationships, according to Jean Twenge of San Diego State University.
“These data show a major reversal from previous decades in terms of marriage and sex,” said Twenge. “In the 1990s, married people had sex more times per year than never-married people, but by the mid-2000s that reversed, with the never-married having more sex.”
Twenge previous research has shown that millennials are also having sex far less often than before. Researchers say that millennials are likely to have had eight sexual partners by the time they turn 45. Meanwhile, Baby Boomers had an average of 11 partners by the time they were 45.
“Despite their reputation for hooking up, Millennials and the generation after them – known as iGen or Generation Z – are actually having sex less often than their parents and grandparents did when they were young,” said Twenge. “That’s partially because fewer iGen’ers and Millennials have steady partners.”
That said, millennials are still having sex more often than anyone else. Americans in their 20s had sex about 80 times a year, in comparison to people in their 60s who are having sex about 20 times a year.
This news comes after research has shown having sex improves job satisfaction and work engagement. Research has shown that a healthy sex life improves job performance and satisfaction.