Have scientists unlocked the secret to a happy sex life?

Scientists have uncovered the secret to a happy sex life – time and effort.

A new study has found that individuals who believed in "sexual destiny" expected satisfaction to simply happen if them and their partner were meant to be.

The team had discovered that these individuals saw a lack of chemistry in the bedroom as a sign of incompatibility and instead of working to resolve the issues or giving it time, they simply ended the relationship.

"People who believe in sexual destiny are using their sex life as a barometer for how well their relationship is doing, and they believe problems in the bedroom equal problems in the relationship as a whole," said Jessica Maxwell, a PhD candidate in the department of psychology at the University of Toronto.

"Whereas people who believe in sexual growth not only believe they can work on their sexual problems, but they are not letting it affect their relationship satisfaction."

Maxwell collaborated with a team at Dalhousie University to explore how "people can best maintain sexual satisfaction in their romantic relationships".

Together they conducted six studies during their analysis to uncover the factors that impact a couple's relationship and sexual satisfaction, reports Psychology Today.

During the study, researchers interviewed a range of couples, a total of 1,900 participants, who were at different stages of their relationship - some individuals were still in college, others lived together and a few were new parents.

Each couple was asked a series of questions that reflected either their "sexual soulmate" or "sexual growth", the idea that sexual satisfaction takes time, ideologies.

The team found that couples who followed the ideas of sexual growth had more of a connection during sex, higher sexual satisfaction with their partner and even a better relationship than those who endorsed the sexual destiny belief.

And people who were firm believers "that two people are either sexually compatible or they are not" reported lower relationship quality and less sexual satisfaction.

It was also found that this group viewed sexual performance as playing a key role in determining the success of a relationship - which may have added pressure during sexual encounters and affecting performance.

But the other group, sexual growth believers, were much more open when to sexual changes from their partner - even if they were not compatible.

This has suggested "that individuals primed with sexual growth are not threatened by incompatibility information and still think it is important to work on the sexual relationship in such cases", reads the study published in APA PsycNet.

"Those primed with sexual growth may be deeming sex to be more/less important to maintain their global relationship views, but their belief in effort and work allows them to remain committed on working to improve their sexual relationship."

Maxwell said there is a honeymoon phase lasting about two to three years where sexual satisfaction is high among both sexual growth and sexual destiny believers. 

But the benefit of believing in sexual growth becomes apparent after this initial phase, as sexual desire begins to ebb and flow.

"We know that disagreements in the sexual domain are somewhat inevitable over time," she said.

"Your sex life is like a garden, and it needs to be watered and nurtured to maintain it."

This article was first published on Daily Mail and is republished here with permission.