Gimme Sum Of Your Luvin'

Resolve an argument, please. How often should married people be having sex to have a happy marriage?

--Married Person

It is kind of depressing if the last time you screamed in bed was two months ago when your husband rolled over in his sleep and elbowed you in the eye. However, consider that more of a good thing is not always better. For example, having more in the boobage area is generally great -- unless that means having three. Well, according to social psychologist Amy Muise and her colleagues, once you've got a relationship going, sex works kind of the same way. They find that having sex once a week is associated with greater happiness; however, more sex than that doesn't make for more happiness, and it can sometimes make for less. The researchers explain that many people are exhausted and feel overwhelmed, so "the pressure to engage in sex as frequently as possible may be daunting and even stressful." But, interestingly, comparisons with one's peers -- positive or negative -- also color how people feel. Sociologist Tim Wadsworth finds that, beyond simply having sex, what really makes people happier is thinking they're having more of it than everybody else. Having sex just once a week can keep the spouse with a stronger sex drive feeling satisfied enough while keeping the less lusty spouse from feeling like a sexual pack mule. This, in turn, helps keep resentment from taking over your relationship to the point where you go around grumbling that the last time somebody got into your pants, it was because they paid $3.79 for them at Goodwill.