Does sex help fight stress – scientists' unexpected verdict
A study of 319 young couples found that sex reduces stress on the day of intimacy, but the effect disappears within 24 hours. Motivation matters: genuine desire stabilizes emotional well-being, while using sex to avoid conflicts increases stress the next day. Scientists warn that sex does not replace open dialogue.
A large-scale study by American psychologists, highlighted by PsyPost, examined how long the calming effect of sex lasts. The experiment involved 319 young people who had been married for less than six months. Over two weeks, they filled out daily questionnaires recording stress levels, frequency of contact, and motivation. Results showed that on days when couples had sex, psychological tension decreased for both men and women. However, within 24 hours, this effect completely disappeared, and stress levels returned to normal. Co-author Sierra D. Peters, a senior psychology instructor, noted that researchers did not expect the benefits to be so fleeting. The main finding was the influence of motives: if sex was initiated out of genuine desire to bring joy, it contributed to long-term emotional stabilization. If intimacy was used to avoid conflicts or mask grievances, stress levels sharply increased the next day. Scientists emphasize that sex is only a short-term buffer, not a replacement for open dialogue. The sample was limited to newlyweds, so results require cautious extrapolation.