Comment: Sample was mostly female college students. It lumped “passionate kissing, oral sex and penetration” together as “sex.” Although sex apparently led to greater wellbeing, orgasm did not:

We explored whether having an orgasm predicted next-day well-being. We found that the presence of an orgasm was unrelated to next-day change in positive affect, negative affect, or meaning in life.

Comment: If sex is beneficial for wellbeing and it’s not the orgasm…is it then the same elements that make Synergy beneficial that make sex beneficial? Also, more sex is not necessarily better:

It is worth noting that we partially replicated a recent set of three studies providing initial evidence that the benefits of sexual frequency on relationship satisfaction remain static or decline after approximately once per week (Muise et al., 2016). … The effects of the amount of pleasure derived from sexual activity on meaning in life peaked below the maximal level. … It seems plausible that individuals  are satiated with a certain amount of sexual pleasure and there is no  appreciable benefit beyond the moment for anything more extreme.  … for people in a romantic relationship for a shorter period of time,  having sex led to greater negative emotions the next day.

2018 Jun;18(4):563-576. doi: 10.1037/emo0000324.

Kashdan TB1, Goodman FR1, Stiksma M1, Milius CR1, McKnight PE1.

Abstract

Sex is rarely discussed in theories of well-being and rarely empirically examined using methods other than cross-sectional surveys. In the present study, a daily diary approach was used (for 21 days with 152 adults) to explore the relationship between the presence and quality of sexual episodes and well-being (positive affect, negative affect, meaning in life). Time-lagged analyses demonstrated that sexual activity on 1 day was related to greater well-being the next. As for the quality of episodes, higher reported sexual pleasure and intimacy predicted greater positive affect and lower negative affect the following day. When the reverse direction was tested, well-being did not predict next-day sexual activity, pleasure, or intimacy. These results suggest a unidirectional relationship in which the presence and quality of sexual activity lead to gains in well-being the following day. Contextual moderators (gender, relationship status, relationship closeness, and relationship length) allowed for tests of conditions altering the link between sexuality and well-being. Relationship closeness was the most robust moderator in predicting greater levels of meaning in life and positive affect following sexual episodes. These data provide evidence to support the continual consideration of sex in empirical work and theoretical models of elements that comprise healthy relationships and a good life.