You're Not Having As Much Sex As You Used To, Study Says

For both married couples and all other Americans, that's seemingly the case, according to a study published this week in the Archives of Sexual Behavior.

The study is based on General Social Survey data that examined the sexual behavior of more than 26,000 American adults.

American couples – either married or living together – had sex 16 fewer times each year from 2010 to 2014 than in 2000 to 2004, according to a news release. All Americans responding to the survey had sex nearly nine fewer times (dropping from 60 to 62 times each year from 1995 to 1999 to less than 53 times between 2010 and 2014, notes The Washington Post). People's age was a big factor in the study, with those in their 20s having sex more than 80 times per year compared to just 20 times at age 65.

The portion of Americans choosing to live as a couple also generally fell since 1986, when 66 percent of American adults lived with a partner. According to survey data, this dipped to 59 percent in 2014. Those who aren't in couples have sex half as much as those coupled, The Washington Post reported citing the study.

The study also found that married people's sexual activity (about 55 times in 2014) declined so much from 73 times in 1990 that it's less than for those who have never been married (59 times).

But why?

"Are they less happy and thus having less sex, or are they having less sex and therefore less happy? It's probably some of both," study author and San Diego State University psychology professor Jean M. Twenge told The Washington Post. "We do know that sexual frequency is linked to marital satisfaction, so overall if you have fewer people having sex, you could have people who are less happy and less satisfied with that relationship."

The report didn't get into specifics for the drop though it mentioned possibilities could include taking antidepressants linked to sexual dysfunction and the uptick in entertainment and social media availability, reports The Washington Post.

Twenge in a statement said that older and married people slept together less often particularly after 2000, and referenced a prior paper that tracked the fall of adults' happiness after age 30 between 2000 and 2014.

Twenge also worked on another study that revealed millennials didn't have as many sexual partners as generations past.

"Despite their reputation for hooking up, millennials and the generation after them (known as iGen or Generation Z) are actually having sex less often than their parents and grandparents did when they were young," Twenge said in a news release. "That's partially because fewer iGen'ers and millennials have steady partners."