Men want cuddles, women prefer sex

LONDON: Contrary to general perception , a new study has found that men need to cuddle to be happy in a long-term relationship while women prefer to have sex.

Researchers at Indiana University have found that acts of affection like hugs and kisses are more important to men than women. And for women, sex tends to get better over time - after a couple has been together about 15 years.
Lead author Julia Heiman said that the first 15 years of a relationship may be emotionally draining for women while they are raising children. As they get older, they have fewer pressures.

She said: "It's possible that women became more sexually satisfied over time because their expectations change or life changes when their children grow up. The period of less satisfaction seems to overlap with the period of raising children, during which other things really take a focus."

The study is based on a survey of over 1,000 couples from five different countries who had been in relationships for between one and 51 years. Men who reported frequent kissing and cuddling were three times as happy, on average, as those who had less snuggling with their partners. Women said that such shows of affection had very little impact on their happiness.

Both men and women reported their sex lives improving the longer their relationship had lasted. But men were more likely to say they were happy with their relationship while women were more likely to report being satisfied with the sex.