When it comes to the best places to have sex, it often helps to expand your mind and think outside the bedroom. And it's not just because there's an added thrill of having sex somewhere less expected. New research shows that having sex outside the bedroom may even improve your sex life — and your relationship. How great is that?
House Method, a website for housing and design solutions and inspiration, recently asked over 1,000 people who were living with their significant other about where they get frisky — and it turns out, venturing outside of the bedroom can have some major benefits you may have not expected. People who were having sex outside the bedroom actually reported having more sex, more relationship satisfaction, and more sexual satisfaction than those who kept it strictly to the bedroom.
But why would sex outside the bedroom lead to better sex or more sex generally? Well, it may just be that they're feeling more free — and satisfying the itch when it comes up. "My theory is that couples who aren't limiting their sex lives to the bedroom are letting themselves get down wherever the mood strikes," Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza, brand editor at House Method, tells Bustle. "Let's be honest, the bedroom is not the only place we get aroused! If you get comfortable with the idea that sex is not just for the bedroom, you may start having more sex too!"
So how are people getting down around the house — and what are the exact benefits? Here's what the survey from House Method found about sex outside the bedroom.
1Couples Who Roam Outside The Bedroom Have Almost Twice As Much Sex Than Couples Who Don't
Couples who stick to having sex in the bed have sex 5.8 times a month on average, while those who like to mix it up have sex 10.9 times a month. Now, that's a big difference. I guess there's the argument that if you can't make it to the bedroom, you're probably just more sexual generally.
2Couples Who Had Sex Outside The Bedroom Had 10.5% Higher Levels Of Relationship Satisfaction
It turns out, where you have sex could be linked to how happy you are in your relationship. Those couples who stick to having sex in the bedroom reported 84.4 percent relationship satisfaction, which isn't bad — but those who did it elsewhere had 93.8 percent relationship satisfaction, which is significantly better.
3Having Sex Outside The Bedroom Made Couples 33% More Satisfied Sexually
This was the biggest gap: those who had sex outside the bedroom said that they were 86.8 percent satisfied with their sex lives, but those who didn't were only 62.2 percent satisfied. It's hard to argue with those numbers.
4The Living Room Was The Most Popular Non-Bedroom Location
When it came to having sex outside the bedroom, 96.6 percent reported doing it in the living room. You have couches, you have chairs, you have cushions — it's basically the ideal location. In fact, there are more options for support than a lot of bedrooms. The second most popular location for hooking up was the bathroom, where 82.8 percent of couples had tried. Let's hope that means shower sex and not, you know, toilet sex.
5Attics And Front Yards Were Not So Popular For Hooking Up
On the other end of the scale, only 10.9 percent of people said they had gotten down in an attic, probably because: 1) Most of us can't afford attics these days and 2) It would definitely feel like a dead grandparent or something was haunting you up there.
Front yards were even less popular for having sex, with only eight percent of people trying it there, probably because of common decency and also not wanting to make the ice cream truck driver angry. Because then how will you get ice cream?
So, it looks like mixing it up in terms of sex spots definitely has some benefits for your relationship. What's stopping you?
