Many people believe that there is a solid connection between sex and happiness. Past studies have shown that happy men and women are more likely to get it on. Unfortunately, the converse may not be true- having more sex does not make a person happier.

Researchers at the Carnegie Melon University suggest that increasing the frequency of fornication can actually decrease happiness. Having sex for the sake of having sex can lead to a loss of romance and desire thus leading to feelings of dissatisfaction and frustration.

The study included 128 married, heterosexual participants with ages ranging from 35 to 65. Initially the couples were interviewed about their bedroom activity to establish a baseline for statistics.

Half of the group was randomly chosen to double the amount of sex they had with their partner each week. The other half continued their normal behavior. Both frequently completed questionnaires online about their health, happiness, and their overall enjoyment of sex. Additionally, researchers asked participants to completely describe their sex lives, even the positions used.

The couples assigned to have more sex did so diligently. However, as the study progressed, they reported decreased levels of desire and sexual enjoyment.

Researchers believe that this was due to having sex because they were instructed to do so, rather than letting the impulse spontaneously occur.

‘Perhaps couples changed the story they told themselves about why they were having sex, from an activity voluntarily engaged in to one that was part of a research study,’ said the study’s lead researcher George Loewenstein.

The study highlights the need for genuine desire and inspiration in order to draw the connection between sex and happiness.

“If we ran the study again, and could afford to do it, we would try to encourage subjects into initiating more sex in ways that put them in a sexy frame of mind, perhaps with baby-sitting, hotel rooms or Egyptian sheets, rather than directing them to do so,” said Loewenstein.

The study’ designer, Tamar Krishnamurti, hopes that the study will help couples to improve their sex lives.

“The desire to have sex decreases much more quickly than the enjoyment of sex once it’s been initiated,” said Krishnamurti, a research scientist in the Department of Engineering and Public Policy at CMU. “Instead of focusing on increasing sexual frequency to the levels they experienced at the beginning of a relationship, couples may want to work on creating an environment that sparks their desire and makes the sex that they do have even more fun.”