Study finds even share of chores makes women want more sex

A study published seven years ago found that couples that split up chores evenly in the household tend to have more sex. Now, a newer study that came out earlier this year found that when chores are split evenly, it tends to be the woman pushing for the sex.

Every couple goes through ups and downs in the bedroom. We all have periods when we can't take our hands off each other and others that are characterized by a lot of dryness - which can even last for months.

A study published back in May claims that dividing the household chores equally will greatly help your sex life - and when you think about it, it's easy to understand why.

If one person does all the household chores, from cooking and dishes to cleaning the house and laundry - by the end of the day they will be worn out. It's hard to get into "sexy mode" when you're tired and feel like you've done all the hard work at home.

Therefore, an equal division will probably reduce your level of fatigue at the end of the day and allow both of you to leave some energy for bed. However, the study claims that this is not the only reason for this.

How was the study conducted?

The study, conducted by the Centre for Mental Health at the Swinburne University of Technology, involved 299 Australian women between the ages of 18 and 39 who were in relationships being asked to respond to an online questionnaire that compares relationship characteristics to different levels of sexual desire.

The researchers provided the participants with measures relating to individual and dyadic aspects of sexual desire while reporting perceptions of equality in the relationship - and their overall satisfaction with the relationship.

Among other things, the questions are designed to check how balanced the respondents think their relationship is - as well as how good they think their sex life is.

"As expected, equality in relationships predicted relationship satisfaction, which, subsequently, was related to higher levels of dyadic sexual desire," the study concluded. 

The study was concerned with the conflicting female desire for solitary and dyadic sexual desire. Female desire is multidimensional and it consists of two main factors: solitary sexual desire, the internally motivated desire that works to achieve specific sexual needs for satisfaction and treatment of sexual frustration, and dyadic sexual desire, defined as the desire for emotional closeness or intimacy with another person.

The study found that dividing chores more equally can increase the level of dyadic sexual desire, but it has no effect on individual sexual desire. Looking at the data, the team found that those who reported egalitarian relationships were more likely to experience higher levels of dyadic sexual desire, and were more satisfied with their relationships.

As expected, relationship equality predicted relationship satisfaction, which was associated with higher levels of dyadic sexual desire—suggesting that female sexual desire is not only biological and cognitive but also responsive to relationship contexts.

What the study showed

According to Dr. Simone Buzwell, the lead author of the study, the results indicate that a lack of sexual desire results in significant distress for many women and their partners. However, if these results tell us anything, it's that the pressure may be misdirected. Dr. Buzwell sees the study's results as having an overall positive outcome.

She explained that passion is something that can be worked on and that low female sexual desire is likely to be a problem that both people in the relationship can solve together. "It takes two to tango," she added.

So the next time you point the finger of blame at your partner - keep in mind that there are a variety of factors that affect our level of desire and remember - a fairer life leads to better sex.