Can long-term couples really experience that honeymoon high again? Sarah Pollok chats to an expert in sex and relationships about a study that suggests they can. We call it the honeymoon period – that blissful time when novelty abounds, desire burns red-hot, and a couple is intoxicated by the thrill of discovering each other and being deeply known. It’s no accident we call it a period.
Eventually, whether it’s months or years later, novelty fades into familiarity, desire softens into a steady hum of companionship and sex no longer feels quite as exciting as it used to. Most committed couples quietly accept waning desire as an inescapable reality but it may not be so inevitable according to Amy Muise, the Associate Professor and Director of the Sexual Health and Relationships Lab at York University. In 2018, Muise and five other researchers discovered couples could bolster their desire by doing one simple thing; pursue self-expanding activities.
Not only did couples report increased desire but men and women were more likely to have sex , report it as enjoyable and feel increased satisfaction for their relationship overall..