How Much Sex Do You Need to Maintain a Happy Marriage?

If you are newly married and intend to stay married---and with the same woman----then take heed that it isn't satisfaction that makes her happy but the frequency of sex, according to huffingtonpost.

A new study discloses that newly wed wives who are unhappy have sex only three or four times a month. But the happy ones have it 11 times a month.

"After their first two years of marriage or relationship, couples must do more to maintain their initial level of intimacy and excitement," M. Gary Neuman, bestselling author, psychotherapist and lead author of the study said.

Neuman said that less sex among couples is due to problems everyday such as paying bills, children falling ill and missing out on sleep. Hence, he quantifies his research, pointing out that happy couples have thrice as much sex as unhappy couples, presenting his research in a video.

Hence, a happy relationship is closely related to how often the couple has sex, not its quality. He says there's a big difference between the frequency of sex between unhappy and happy couples.

He studied 400 women in order to find out how many times a couple had sex every month in order to remain happy, according to aplus.

"Emotional betrayal through a virtual affair can be even more damaging to a marriage than a physical affair," said Neuman, author of the book titled "Emotional Infidelity: How to Affair-Proof Your Marriage and 10 Other Secrets to a Great Relationship."

He said it is easier to advise someone who had "random sex with a stranger" rather than one who got a best friend on the Internet---even if they had no physical relationship.

A virtual affair "is a much harder thing to heal in a relationship because the emotions have left the marriage and gone into the hands of someone else," he said.