Is Sex Good For You? Why Americans Are Having Less Intercourse/Coitus/Relations Now Than In the 90s

Sex lives are lacking all across America – at least that’s what a new study released in the Archives of Sexual Behavior journal insinuated.

The report, which was published Tuesday, analyzed data collected from 1989 to 2014 and found adults living in the U.S. had sex seven to nine times fewer than what they did in the 1990s. The drop in sexual activity was the lowest it had been in the country within the last four decades and spanned across all races, religions, educational levels, economic statuses and genders.

Based on the data, which reviewed the sex lives of more than 26,000 American adults, the average adult had sex about 60 to 62 times a year back in the 1990s, but by 2014, adults were only having sex on an average of fewer than 53 times a year.

Despite the drop across all groups, married people suffered the largest decline in sex. In 1990, married couples were reportedly having sex about 73 times a year while in 2014, the study said married folks were having less sex than people who had never even been married – only about 55 times a year. Adults who had never tied the knot were only knocking boots on average of 59 times a year.

Along with decreased sexual activity among adults, the report said Americans in relationships was also on the decline. Only 59 percent of people lived with a significant other in 2014 compared to 66 of American adults who lived with a partner in 1986.

While the report couldn’t determine exactly why American adults weren’t having sex as much as they used to, the study’s lead author, San Deigo State University Psychology Professor Jean Twenge, said increased depression rates, the prevalence social media and exhaustion could be some of the factors for dwindling sex drives among American adults.

“Are they less happy and thus having less sex or are they having less sex and therefore less happy? It’s probably some of both,” Twenge said in a statement. “We do know that sexual frequency is linked to marital satisfaction, so overall if you have fewer people having sex you could have people who are less happy and less satisfied with that relationship.”

The report seems to be in line with an August 2016 Centers for Disease Control report that said birth rates were the lowest they’ve ever been since the government began tracking the U.S. fertility rate in 1909.

Following World War II, fertility rates were the highest averaging 122.9 births per 1,000 women. By 2015, the fertility rate dropped to 60 births per 1,000 women while in the first three months of 2016, the fertility rate dropped even lower to 59.8 births per 1,000 women.