This page lists items consistent with the possibility that “less can be more” when it comes to managing sex and orgasm frequency for ideal levels of wellbeing. The documented shift toward more masturbation appears to be leading to less partnered sex.

Also, too much stimulation may be decreasing satisfaction over all, and may consequently fuel a search for more intense stimulation in desensitized lovers.

Too Much of a Good Thing: Insensitivity to Rate of Consumption Leads to Unforeseen Satiation

Consumers tend to consume too rapidly, growing tired of initially well-liked stimuli such as a favorite snack … or an enjoyable video game … more quickly than they would if they slowed consumption. [Perhaps] because of an underestimation of the extent to which breaks reset adaptation. The results present a paradox: Participants who chose their own rate of consumption enjoyed the stimulus less than participants who had a slower rate of consumption chosen for them.

Sexuality Leads to Boosts in Mood and Meaning in Life With No Evidence for the Reverse Direction: A Daily Diary Investigation

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.

Sex Life Challenges: The Finnish Case

It is a great challenge to try to explain why in Finland, where gender equality and social welfare are highly progressed in international comparison, the lack of sexual desire is increasing, frequencies of sexual intercourse are decreasing especially in the middle age, and difficulties to experience orgasm in sexual intercourse are increasing. It was assumed that sexual well-being should improve along the progress of other social well-being.

… One of the study’s key findings was that sexual activity among Finnish people was shifting to a significant degree from sexual intercourse to masturbation, also among couples.…Slowly, people have begun to emancipate themselves from their feelings-based relationships, moving from shared sex toward a more individualistic experience of sexual pleasure – masturbation or self-pleasuring. … To some extent, this is also a manifestation of a partial distancing between sex and love.

Promiscuous America: Smart, Secular, and Somewhat Less Happy

The 5% most promiscuous respondents of both sexes are less likely to report being “very happy” and more likely to say they are “not too happy.”

… Promiscuous survey respondents are less likely to be married and more likely to be divorced. Regular readers of this blog are well aware of the fact that marriage and happiness are correlated, and this association might account for why some promiscuous adults are less happy.

The Amount Of Sex You Have May Determine How Vulnerable You Are To Drug Addiction  (link goes to both underlying research and this item)

Your sensitivity to certain drugs may be determined by the amount of sex you have, which could partially explain why some people are more susceptible to addiction than others. More specifically, those who have lots of sex may be at risk of developing a tolerance to some drugs, although when these people hit a rough patch in their love lives and experience too many lonely nights, their sensitivity to these substances can dramatically increase.

Prevalence of drug use during sex among swingers and perceived benefits and risks – a cross-sectional internet survey in the Netherlands

For around two thirds of respondents, the reasons for using were to increase arousal (66%), intensify sensations (61%), prolong sex (68%),and release inhibitions (64%).

Diverse Sexual Behaviors and Pornography Use: Findings From a Nationally Representative Probability Survey of Americans Aged 14 to 60 Years

Clinicians need to be aware of recent potential shifts in sexual behaviors, particularly those such as choking that may lead to harm. … Our experiences teaching undergraduate students suggest that more people may be engaging in choking behaviors as part of sex than in previous decades.