Want to boost your sex life? Get talking, study says

According to a new study, people who are comfortable with talking about sex are more sexually satisfied, particularly if they talk during the act itself.

Turns out, talking about sex during sex can make your sex life better, say researchers.


Turns out, talking about sex during sex can boost your sex life, say researchers from Cleveland State University in Ohio.

According to a new study, people who are comfortable with talking about sex are more sexually satisfied, particularly if they talk during the act itself.

"Even if you just have a little bit of anxiety about the communication, that affects whether you're communicating or not, but it also directly affected their satisfaction," study researcher Elizabeth Babin told Live Science on September 5.

To reach her findings, Babin recruited 207 people, 88 from undergraduate classes and 119 from online sites, to complete surveys about their sexual communication, both verbal and nonverbal, as well as their sexual satifaction. Average age of the participants was 29.

Findings revealed that feeling apprehensive in talking about sex can kill the joy of having it. "Unsurprisingly, less sexual communication apprehension and higher sexual self-esteem were both associated with more communication during sex," notes Live Science.

Good news for shy folks: nonverbal cues may be a safer option, said Babin. "It could be perceived as being less threatening, so it might be easier to moan or to move in a certain way to communicate that I'm enjoying the sexual encounter than to say, 'Hey, this feels really good, I like that,'" she said. "That might seem too direct for some people."

Sexual communication "is a skill," she added. "And we're not all well-trained in that skill."

The study appears in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships.

In a separate study published last December, scientists have found that women whose male partners immediately turn over and sleep after sex are left feeling insecure and craving affection. Psychologists at the University of Michigan found cuddling and talking after sex is a crucial way for a couple to express their commitment to each other.