Housework Is A Turn On

Oct 25, 2009 • News, Research

washerBack in high school, my friends and I had a special code phrase for getting it on: doing laundry. It possibly originated in the belief that having sex on a washing machine while it was in the spin cycle led to a more intense orgasm, but I can’t be sure.

The funny thing is, a new study has revealed the more housework a person does, the more often he or she is likely to have sex with their partner.

The study, published in the Journal of Family Issues and based on a random, nationally representative sample of 6,877 married couples, suggests that investing time in the shared interest of the home is a total aphrodisiac. A summary of the results in the Wall Street Journal added:

The link held true even after researchers controlled the results for spouses’ attitudes about traditional sex roles–that is, whether the respondents believed doing housework and maintaining marital intimacy is part of a wife’s proper role. The results also were controlled for age, health, duration of couples’ relationship, religion, income, education and marital satisfaction.

More time in the paid workforce is also linked to higher sexual frequency in marriage, according to the study. The researchers say the results are evidence that some people – not all – are high achievers who approach life with a “work hard, play hard” mentality, drawing energy from activity in one realm, such as job or home, to invest in other areas, such as marriage.

Well, what are you waiting for? Time to do some laundry!

Image by Radek Szuban. Information via The Wall Street Journal.