Sexual intimacy helps to feel calmer — but only for one day.
Psychologists have come to this conclusion after analyzing the daily lives of hundreds of young married couples. The study showed that while the level of stress decreases on the day of sex, this effect completely disappears the next day. The results of the work were published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior (ASB).
The authors combined data from three independent studies involving 645 people — 319 couples in the early months of marriage. For two weeks, participants recorded their stress levels daily and reported whether they had sexual intimacy. The analysis showed that on days when partners had sex, they felt less tense — regardless of gender, relationship quality, or satisfaction with the intimacy itself.
However, a sustainable "anti-stress effect" was not found. Sex did not lower stress levels the next day and did not provide lasting emotional relief. Moreover, the determining factor was not the act of intimacy itself, but the motives behind it.
If sexual contact was associated with a desire to avoid conflict, feelings of guilt, or pressure from a partner, the stress level the next day, on the contrary, increased. According to the researchers, in such cases, intimacy ceases to be a supportive experience and can intensify internal tension. Conversely, sex that occurred out of a genuine desire for closeness was sometimes accompanied by lower stress later — but this effect proved to be unstable.
The scientists emphasize that sex can provide temporary relief but does not replace addressing the causes of stress. The study shows that in matters of psychological well-being, not only the experience itself is important but also the context in which it occurs — including expectations, pressure, and partners' motivations.
