How many people should we sleep with in life?

Psychology is a science that tries to explain the functioning of the mind and brain and the behavior of people, and scientific studies in this discipline are often curious and, therefore, the conclusions of many investigations are also curious.

One of the topics that arouses the most interest in behavioral science is how we relate to others. In this article we echo an investigation that reveals how many people we should have intimate relationships with, either within a relationship or as something sporadic.

• Related article: “10 curious investigations on Psychology that will surprise you”

Intimate relationships, a human need

Human beings are social beings and we are characterized by being born, reproducing and dying. In order to reproduce, human beings enjoy pleasant moments and with the person who attracts us, and despite the fact that the reproduction is a vital necessity for the survival of human beings, intimate relationships are not a cold act or mechanic, there is an emotional component that turns this moment into something incredible, a unique and special moment.

Having sex is also health. There are many benefits of this practice: greater emotional well-being, less stress, it helps to lose weight, it has a positive effect on our heart, etc.

How many people should we have sex with?

As you can see, the health benefits are many, but not everyone has the same opinion about intimate relationships. While some people think of sex with a liberal mindset, others prefer to arrive virgins at marriage. Surely some people find it hard to believe that there are people who don't have sex, but... what happens when we don't have intimate relationships? You can find out in this article: “What happens in our body and mind when we have sex?”.

Thus, there seems to be a variety of people's opinions regarding how many individuals we should share a bed with at some point in our lives. Regarding the question “How many people should we sleep with throughout our lives?”, a recent investigation seems to have sought the answer to this question.

The ideal number of people we should sleep with is 10

According to Illicit Encounters, a British portal to find a partner, the number of people we should sleep with is 10. To conclude this, the company analyzed the responses of more than 1,000 people who took a survey.

This data is an intermediate number between what people consider to be too promiscuous and loose and what it is to not have enough experience in terms of intimate relationships. 38% of the female participants and 37% of the male subjects stated that the ideal number to go to bed with someone is between 8 and 12. Therefore, there seems to be no difference of opinion between women and men.

Additionally, only 3% of women and 4% of men thought that more than 20 people is the correct figure of people with whom to share our moments of maximum intimacy.

We are becoming more tolerant and adventurous

But these are not the only data provided by the subjects of this survey. But they were also asked about what their interest was when it came to knowing the number of people their partner had slept with. 35% of women and 30% of men responded that they like to know when they start a relationship.

This data varies between generations, being the least current those that show more interest and curiosity about the number of conquests of their boyfriend or husband.

Regarding this, Cristian Grant, spokesperson for the company, explains: "We think more and more freely about intimate relationships and who we sleep with. As the years go by, the generations are becoming more tolerant and adventurous.”

Recommended article: “Sex between friends strengthens friendship”

And... what happens with the frequency of intimate relationships?

The data from this survey concludes that the number of people we should sleep with is 10, but it says nothing about the frequency of intimate relationships.

How many times should we do it per week to be happy? This is what a group of researchers from the University of Toronto Mississauga in Canada asked. To test their hypothesis, they analyzed a sample of 30,000 subjects.

As the results showed, having an active sexual life favors happiness and well-being in the couple, but the increase in sexual frequency in a relationship has a positive effect up to a limit. In other words, having sex with a partner is important, however more is not always better.

• If you want to read more about this research, you can read our article: “Does having a lot of sex make couples happier?”