Good Sex Equals Happy Women, says Study

Desire is never simple.

According to a new study, women who have satisfying sex are generally happier. But before you say "duh," take a moment to consider that not everything works so neatly when dealing with science. Even the most "obvious" studies don't always go the way you think they should.

Interestingly, as opposed to men, one of the only definite things scientists know about female sexual desire is that many women don't feel sexually satisfied. But whether or not their activities (or lack thereof) in the bedroom transfer to the rest of their lives is not so well known.

In the study, which looked at 300 women between the ages of 20 to 65, with half being pre-menopausal and half post-menopausal, 140 of them reported being dissatisfied with their sex-lives. That number was split even between the two groups.

These women recorded their sexual experiences over a 28-day period and responded to questionaires regarding their happiness, well-being and sexual satisfaction. As it turns out, women who reported a higher level of sexual satisfaction also reported better personal well-being.

Unfortunately, there is no way to tell from the study if sexually satisfying sex makes women happier, or if happy women just have satisfying sex. But there is of course an important lesson to be learned.

"The take-home message is that it's an important issue for women to talk to their doctors about, and it's okay to talk to their doctors about," said Susan Davis, one of the researchers at Australia's Women's Health Program at Monash University. "And it's an important issue for doctors to talk to their patients about."